Nebraska became the second midwestern state to update its public notice law in 2022 when Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) signed Legislative Bill 840 on April 18.
LB-840 requires newspapers to post notices on the Nebraska Press Association’s statewide website. It also raises public notice ad rates from 45 cents per line to 48 cents per line for 12 months beginning Oct. 1, 2022, and to 50 cents per line on Oct. 1, 2023. That 11 percent boost over the next 18 months is the state’s first public notice rate increase in 26 years.
Midwest press groups seek to modernize public notice laws
(This article was corrected on April 28, 2022. See below for corrections.)
Press associations in four midwestern states are supporting bills that would update their states’ public notice laws.
Legislatures in Minnesota and Nebraska are considering bills that would require newspapers to post all notices on their press association’s statewide public notice website. Also in Minnesota, and in Missouri, lawmakers may respond to an evolving local media environment by relaxing standards newspapers must meet to qualify to publish notices. And in South Dakota, the legislature has already passed a bill with primary elements identical to the legislation being considered in Minnesota.