Relating to the publication of certain public notices by designated public entities, providing for fees, and including effective date provisions

The bill requires the secretary of state to collect a fee of $5 from a public posting entity for each notice posted by the entity and to deposit moneys collected pursuant to the bill in the business administration fund. The bill requires a statutorily required public notice posted to the online portal to be timely made, include statutorily required information, contact information for the entity posting the notice, and instructions for making public comments, if applicable. A public posting entity is solely responsible for the contents of a notice posted by the entity, and neither the secretary of state nor the secretary of state’s designee shall be responsible for the content of public notices. The bill requires a public posting entity to remove a statutorily required public notice from the online portal within days of the expiration of the required posting time. The bill does not change a public posting entity’s responsibility to keep record of a posting or make public use copies of a posting available if otherwise required. The bill also requires a public posting entity to post a physical copy of a statutorily required public notice in a prominent place that is easily accessible to the public and clearly designated for that purpose at the principal office of the public posting entity, or if no such office exists, at the building in which the meeting is to be held. The bill allows a public posting entity to also post a statutorily required public notice on the official internet site or official social media account of the public posting entity or in an official newspaper. The bill requires a public posting entity to publish a notice in a newspaper at least three times between the enactment and effective date of the bill that the public posting entity will be required to post notices to the online portal, the internet address for which will be included in the notice. The bill does not apply to the office of the governor or the general assembly.5A (Iowa administrative bulletin and Iowa administrative code), Code sections enacting interstate compacts, Code chapter 17A (Iowa administrative procedure Act), or the Iowa Constitution from the requirements of the bill. The bill amends sections throughout the Code that require the publication of public notice to require that the notice be posted consistent with the requirements of the bill. The bill takes effect July 1, 2024, except that the secretary of state may adopt rules for the implementation of the bill prior to that date.