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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
cities; towns; counties; posting; website
Purpose
Allows a city, town or county to satisfy any statutory requirements for advertising, publishing or printing by posting the public notice on the official website of the city, town or county and the official website of a newspaper that is qualified to publish public notices.
Background
Statute outlines
circumstances when the governing board of a city, town or county board of
supervisors (county BOS) must contract with a newspaper for the publication of
public notices. These circumstances include but are not limited to: 1) notices
of election; 2) invitations for bids;
3) notices of letting contracts; 4) laws and ordinances; 5) notices of zoning;
and 6) notices of proposed city charters. A county BOS must contract for all
advertising, publications and printing required to be done or made by all
departments of county government (A.R.S. §§ 9-812
and
11-251).
When publication
of a notice in a newspaper is directed or authorized by law, the publication
must be in the newspaper of general circulation. If the place of publication of
the notice is not specified, publication must be in a newspaper printed and
published within: 1) the county where the state capital is located, if the
notice is from a state office, board or commission; 2) the county, if the
notice is from a county officer, board or commission or any person in the
county; or 3) the territorial limits, if the notice is from the district, city
or town officer, board, commission, or by any person in the district, city or
town. A newspaper is a publication regularly issued for dissemination of
news of a general and public character at stated short intervals of time. The publication
must be from a known office of publication, bear dates of issue and be numbered
consecutively. The publication may not be designed primarily for advertising,
free circulation or circulation at nominal rates, but must have a bona fide
list of paying subscribers (A.R.S.
§§ 39-201 and 39-204).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Allows a city, town or county to satisfy any statutory requirement for advertising, publishing or printing by posting the public notice on the official website of the city, town or county and the official website of a newspaper that is qualified to publish public notices.
2. Requires a city, town or county to electronically provide the newspaper with the public notice that is to be posted at least one full business day before the required notice date to satisfy the statutory requirement for advertising, publishing or printing.
3. Requires a city, town or county to post the public notice on the official website of the city, town or county by the required notice date.
4. Requires a city, town or county that posts public notices on the official website to include a public notices link on the home page of the website that links to all statutorily required public notices listed by category.
5. Specifies that the ability to satisfy the statutory requirement to print public notices as outlined does not apply to a notice of a proposed city charter.
6. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by the House of Representatives
1. Requires a city, town or county to post a public notice on the official website of a qualified newspaper, in addition to the official government website, to satisfy any statutory requirement for publishing public notices.
2. Requires a city, town or county to electronically provide the newspaper with the public notice at least one full business day before the required posting date.
3. Requires a public notice published on a website to be posted by the required posting date.
4. Makes conforming changes.
Senate Action House Action
GOV 1/28/26 DP 6-1-0 GOV 3/25/26 DPA 4-3-0-0
3rd Read 2/24/26 19-8-3 3rd Read 4/20/26 47-3-9-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
April 20, 2026
AN/KP/ci