An act relating to definitions and general provisions, the official text

1                   STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2   1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)

3 HOUSE BILL 2166               By: Pfeiffer

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6                               AS INTRODUCED

7   An Act relating to definitions and general

    provisions; amending 25 O.S. 2021, Section 106, which

8   relates to newspapers; defining term; prescribing

    requirements; imposing duties upon periodical and

9   non-periodical newspapers; imposing restrictions

    based on geographical location; modifying certain

10  publication provisions; modifying provisions related

    to excusable failure with respect to continuity of

11  publication; and providing an effective date.

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15 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:

16  SECTION 1.      AMENDATORY  25 O.S. 2021, Section 106, is

17 amended to read as follows:

18  Section 106. No legal notice, advertisement, or publication of

19 any kind required or provided for by the laws of this state to be

20 published in a newspaper of general circulation shall have force or

21 effect unless published in a legal newspaper of the county in this

22 state. Legal newspapers shall be either:

23  A. PERIODICAL PERMIT NEWSPAPER: A legal newspaper of the county

24 is any newspaper of general circulation which, during a period of

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1 one hundred four (104) consecutive weeks immediately prior to the

2 first publication of such notice, advertisement, or publication:

3   1. has maintained a paid general subscription circulation in

4 the county; and

5   2. has been admitted to the United States mails as paid second-

6 class mail matter; and

7   3. has been continuously and uninterruptedly published in the

8 county.

9   B. NON-PERIODICAL PERMIT NEWSPAPER: A legal newspaper of the

10 county is any newspaper of general circulation which, during a

11 period of one hundred four (104) consecutive weeks immediately prior

12 to the first publication of such notice, advertisement or

13 publication:

14  1. Has published a printed issue at least once per week;

15  2. Continuously offers paid subscriptions to the general public

16 and maintains a minimum of two hundred (200) paid print

17 subscriptions to individual verified subscribers, and delivers such

18 subscriptions by verified mail or carrier delivery to paid

19 individual subscribers. The cost of a paid subscription shall

20 exceed a nominal fee including the cost of printing and

21 distribution;

22  3. Has averaged a minimum of twenty-five percent (25%) news

23 content over the preceding 12-month period, and news content shall

24 be content generally found in local news publications, such as

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1 general local news relevant to the area the notice is intended to

2 serve, reports of local events and persons, local government

3 proceedings, feature stories, graphics, photographs, letters to the

4 editor or editorial pages. No non-periodical newspaper shall

5 knowingly carry advertisements which are prohibited by state or

6 federal law;

7   4. Has maintained a known office of publication in the county

8 where the business of the publication can be transacted with the

9 public, and where the public can personally interact or meet with

10 local staff of the publication;

11  5. Has published in the newspaper an annual statement of

12 ownership, management, and circulation in the issue dated nearest

13 October 1 of each year, which shall contain the same information as

14 the United States Postal Form 3526;

15  6. Has conducted an independent audit by a firm recognized by

16 the newspaper industry to verify accuracy of circulation,

17 subscriptions, and content, to confirm the newspaper has met the

18 applicable requirements of this section. Such audit shall be

19 conducted prior to attaining status as a legal newspaper, and

20 annually each year thereafter. Each audit shall be available at no

21 charge to any person upon written request within five business days

22 of the request, or alternatively shall be made available

23 continuously on the newspaper website, if the newspaper has a

24 website;

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1  7. Has declared the county of publication which the newspaper

2 shall serve when attaining status as a legal newspaper, and such

3 county of publication cannot be moved from one county to another

4 county after such declaration without meeting the requirements of

5 this section again in full for one hundred four (104) consecutive

6 weeks;

7  8. Prior to attaining status as a newspaper qualified to carry

8 legal notices, the non-periodical newspaper shall petition the

9 district court in the jurisdiction in which the newspaper seeks to

10 be authorized as a legal newspaper and provide evidence the

11 newspaper has met the requirements required to be designated as a

12 legal newspaper of general circulation in the county. Prior to

13 filing the petition, the non-periodical newspaper shall publish a

14 notice of intent pursuant to this section, in a newspaper of general

15 circulation in the county, or an adjoining county if no newspaper

16 exists in the county. The court shall review the petition and

17 determine whether the applicant has fully met the qualifications and

18 publication time requirements of Section 106 of Title 25 of the

19 Oklahoma Statutes as applicable, and grant or deny authority for the

20 non-periodical newspaper to accept legal notice as qualified legal

21 newspaper of general circulation of the county. The court may

22 revoke such authority if the newspaper is determined by the court to

23 have failed to continue to meet the qualifications of Section 106 of

24 Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes as applicable;

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1   9. Publish on the front page the newspaper title, and publish

2 an identification box in easily read type located in the first five

3 pages in each issue, which shall include the title of the newspaper,

4 known office of publication address including street number and

5 name, city, zip code, county of publication, telephone contact

6 information, email address for the publication, a statement of

7 frequency, information on how to subscribe to the newspaper, the

8 date of publication and volume and issue number of each publication.

9 The date, volume, and issue number may be omitted from the

10 identification box if such information appears on the front page of

11 the newspaper. The identification box may contain any other

12 material the publisher determines will inform the general public of

13 the newspaper policies or deadlines.

14  C. All periodical permit and non-periodical permit newspapers

15 as defined in subsections A and B of this section also shall:

16  1. Register and maintain registration of the ownership of the

17 newspaper with the Oklahoma Secretary of State;

18  2. Publish all legal notices on the newspaper website in a

19 timely manner, if the newspaper maintains a website, in front of any

20 paywall or paid access so the public may freely access the notices

21 published. Notices posted on the publication website shall, at

22 minimum, be maintained for public viewing for the time period the

23 notice is required to be run in the printed newspaper;

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1   3. When notice by publication in a newspaper is required by

2 law, order of court, or other means, the newspaper publishing the

3 notice shall in a timely manner, at no additional cost to the person

4 of official desiring the publication, cause the notice to be placed

5 on the statewide website established and maintained as a joint

6 venture of a majority of Oklahoma newspapers qualified as legal

7 newspapers under the laws of this state;

8   4. Shall publish a promotional ad in each issue in which public

9 notices appear promoting notices in the local newspaper, on the

10 local newspaper website, if any, and on the statewide website

11 described in paragraph 3;

12  5. Archive printed issues containing legal notices for a

13 minimum of three (3) years;

14  6. Shall be independent of government and shall not be owned,

15 controlled, funded, or subsidized by any political party, state

16 agency, political subdivision, fraternal or religious organization,

17 or other party which is not independent of government.

18  D. A legal newspaper of the county is qualified to be a legal

19 newspaper in only one county in which the periodical permit

20 newspaper original entry periodicals mail permit was applied for and

21 held, or in the county in which the non-periodical permit newspaper

22 declared when beginning as a non-periodical permit newspaper under

23 subsection B of this section. Each legal newspaper must annually

24 declare in the published statement of ownership, management and

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1 circulation on October 1 if they are publishing as a periodical

2 permit or non-periodical permit newspaper for the succeeding year,

3 as defined in this section, and shall continue to be authorized

4 under that declaration for a period of one year, and cannot change

5 such declaration until October 1 each year.

6   E. If there is no legal newspaper in a county, then all legal

7 notices, advertisements, or publications of any kind required or

8 provided for by the laws of this state shall be published in a legal

9 newspaper in an adjoining county of this state, which newspaper has

10 general circulation in the county or political subdivision in which

11 such notice is required. If there is no legal newspaper in a

12 county, a newspaper can be established by meeting the provisions of

13 this section after a period of fifty-two (52) consecutive and

14 uninterrupted weeks in a twelve (12) month period.

15  F. Nothing in this section shall invalidate the publication of

16 such legal notices, advertisements, or publications in a newspaper

17 which has moved its place of publication from one location in the

18 county to another location in the same county without breaking the

19 continuity of its regular issues for the requisite length of time,

20 or the name of which may have been changed when said change of

21 location was made as permitted by United States postal laws and

22 regulations or the laws of the State of Oklahoma.

23  G. Failure to issue or publish said newspaper for a period of

24 fourteen (14) days twenty-one (21) consecutive days, beginning the

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1 day after the last publication, due to fire, accident, natural

2 disaster, national health emergency declared by the state or federal

3 government or other unforeseen cause, or by reason of the pendency

4 of mortgage foreclosure, attachment, execution, or other legal

5 proceedings against the type equipment, presses, or other personal

6 property used by the newspaper, shall not be deemed a failure to

7 maintain continuous and consecutive publication as required by the

8 provisions of this section, nor shall said failure invalidate the

9 publication of a notice otherwise valid. Failure to issue or

10 publish a newspaper qualified to publish legal notices,

11 advertisements, or publications of any kind, for a period totaling

12 not more than fourteen (14) consecutive days during a calendar year

13 shall not be deemed a failure to maintain continuous and consecutive

14 publication as required by the provisions of this section, nor shall

15 said failure invalidate the publication of a notice otherwise valid.

16  H. A newspaper is permitted to publish fifty (50) of the

17 preceding fifty-two (52) weeks over the immediately previous twelve

18 (12) month period, and failure to issue or publish a newspaper under

19 this publication schedule for a period totaling not more than

20 fourteen (14) consecutive days during a calendar year shall not be

21 deemed a failure to maintain continuous and consecutive publication

22 as required by the provisions of this section, nor shall said

23 failure invalidate the publication of a notice otherwise valid.

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1   SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.

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3   60-1-11041      MAH  01/15/25

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