An Act To Modernize the State's Legal Notice Requirements
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1344
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: ROTUNDO, LACHOWICZ, BOLAND, CHENETTE, COTTA, FREDETTE, GRAHAM, NADEAU, GERZOFSKY, KATZ
Amends: 1 MRSA §601, 1 MRSA §601-A

Legislative Document 
No. 1344 
H.P. 961 
House of Representatives, April 4, 2013 
An Act To Modernize the State's Legal Notice Requirements 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative ROTUNDO of Lewiston. 
Cosponsored by Senator LACHOWICZ of Kennebec and 
Representatives: BOLAND of Sanford, CHENETTE of Saco, COTTA of China, FREDETTE 
of Newport, GRAHAM of North Yarmouth, NADEAU of Winslow, Senators: GERZOFSKY 
of Cumberland, KATZ of Kennebec. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  1 MRSA §601, as amended by PL 1997, c. 405, §1, is further amended to 
read: 
§601.  Publication of legal notices and advertising 
To be qualified as a medium for the publication of legal notices, legal advertising and 
other matter required by law to be published in a newspaper, a newspaper, unless 
otherwise ordered by the court in the proceedings, must be printed in the English 
language; must be entered as 2nd class postal matter in the United States mails; and must 
have general circulation in the vicinity where the notice is required to be published.  Any 
legal notice, legal advertising or other matter required by law to be published in a 
newspaper must appear in all editions of that newspaper and must appear on any publicly 
accessible website that the newspaper maintains in accordance with the requirements of 
section 601-A. 
Sec. 2.  1 MRSA §601-A is enacted to read: 
§601-A.  Electronic notice 
1.  Electronic posting of legal notices.  A legal notice appearing in a newspaper 
pursuant to section 601 must be placed on any publicly accessible website that the 
newspaper maintains in the following manner: 
A.  The legal notice must be placed on the newspaper's publicly accessible website no 
later than the same day that it appears in the newspaper; 
B.  A link to legal notices must be provided on the home page of the newspaper's 
publicly accessible website; 
C.  Legal notices appearing on the newspaper's publicly accessible website must be 
presented in a clear and conspicuous manner and must be of sufficient size to be 
clearly readable; 
D.  Legal notices must be the dominant subject matter of the page on the newspaper's 
publicly accessible website on which they are placed; and 
E.  Beginning on July 1, 2014, the newspaper's publicly accessible website must have 
a search function allowing readers to search legal notices that appear on the website. 
2.  E-mail notification of legal notices.  Beginning July 1, 2014, a newspaper that 
publishes legal notices in accordance with section 601 shall provide, upon request and 
without charge, e-mail notification of any new legal notices added to any publicly 
accessible website that the newspaper maintains.  E-mail notifications must be sent on the 
same day that the new legal notice appears on the newspaper's publicly accessible 
website.  A newspaper must prominently display information regarding the ability to 
receive e-mail notifications and the process for requesting such notifications on the page 
of the newspaper's publicly accessible website where legal notices appear. 
3.  Statewide repository for legal notices.  Beginning July 1, 2014, a statewide 
association representing newspapers shall establish and maintain, at its own expense, a 
publicly accessible electronic repository for any legal notices appearing on newspaper 
websites in accordance with subsection 1.  A newspaper publishing legal notices in 
accordance with section 601 shall submit the legal notice to the repository. 
Sec. 3.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2014. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires that legal notices appearing in a newspaper also appear in any 
publicly accessible website that the newspaper maintains.  Legal notices on a newspaper 
website must appear on the same date that they appear in print editions of the newspaper; 
be reachable by a link from the website's home page; be presented in a clear and 
conspicuous manner; and be the dominant subject matter of the website page on which 
they appear.  Beginning in July 2014, the newspaper website must also offer a search 
function for legal notices on the website.  The bill also requires a statewide association 
representing newspapers to establish and maintain, at its own expense, a publicly 
accessible repository for legal notices appearing on newspaper websites.