AB 548

Under current law, certain legal notices are required by statute or by an order

of a court to be published in a newspaper. Legal notices are generally published in

a newspaper likely to give notice in the area or to the person affected. Current law

sets standards for the publication of legal notices, including the type of newspaper

that may publish legal notices, a standard line length and type face for a legal notice,

and a minimum and maximum fee that a newspaper may charge for publication of

legal notices. Current law allows for different type faces to be used if the publisher

opts not to use the standard type face. Publication fees vary depending on the type

face used and whether the legal notice is being published for the first time or for a

second or subsequent time. Additionally, under current law, if the person requesting

publication submits a legal notice to a newspaper in a format that does not require

the newspaper to typeset or otherwise modify the legal notice, the fee for a second or

subsequent publication applies. The minimum and maximum fee is adjusted every

two years.

Under this bill, all legal notices must be published in Arial type face and a

standard line rate applies for all publications. The bill eliminates the minimum rate

and requires the standard line rate to be reviewed annually. In addition, under the

bill, any newspaper that publishes a legal notice must also place an electronic copy

of the legal notice, at no additional charge, on a Web site that is maintained by

Wisconsin newspapers for the purpose of maintaining an electronic version of

printed and published legal notices.