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

_____ the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. This bill relates to the posting of public notices and is organized in divisions. DIVISION I —— PUBLIC NOTICE REQUIREMENTS. The bill requires the secretary of state or the secretary of state’s designee to create an online portal on which a public posting entity, defined in the bill to include the state of Iowa, an Iowa county, an Iowa city, an Iowa public school district, or an Iowa private or public agency as defined in Code chapter 28E (joint exercise of governmental powers), must post all statutorily required public notices, defined in the bill. The online portal shall be searchable based on county, city, school district, and type of public notice. 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 public notice administration fund, created in the bill under the control of the secretary of state. Moneys in the public notice administration fund are appropriated to the secretary of state for the administration of the bill and are not subject to reversion. Interest or earnings on moneys in the public notice administration fund are credited to the fund. Moneys in the public notice administration fund are capped at $350,000, with fees in excess of this amount being deposited in the general fund of the state. 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. _____ portal for a period of five years following 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 post a statutorily required public notice either on the online portal or as required by the 2026 Iowa Code for a period of six months following the effective date of the bill. The bill requires the Iowa public information board to hear disputes regarding the publication of a statutorily required public notice as a contested case proceeding and award the prevailing party reasonable costs and attorney fees. 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 Constitution of the State of Iowa from the requirements of the bill. The bill also requires the legislative services agency to place on the agency’s internet site information regarding the posting of public notices pursuant to the bill and county auditors to include the same information on property tax statements. This requirement is repealed effective July 1, 2030. DIVISION II —— CONFORMING CHANGES. 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. DIVISION III —— EFFECTIVE DATE. _____ 1, 2026, except that the secretary of state may adopt rules for the implementation of the bill prior to that date.