Bill > HB353

This bill modifies Missouri state law regarding newspaper advertisements and legal publications, primarily changing the requirements for newspapers to qualify for publishing public notices. The bill reduces the required consecutive publication period from three years to one year, extends the window for a successor newspaper to take over from 30 to 90 consecutive days, and adds a provision that allows a newspaper to qualify if it is purchased or newly established by a newspaper that meets the existing publication requirements. The bill maintains existing requirements that qualified newspapers must be admitted to the postal service as periodicals class matter, published regularly, and have a list of bona fide subscribers. For cities with populations of 100,000 or more, public notices must be published in a daily newspaper of general circulation that has been established for at least one year (previously three years). The changes aim to provide more flexibility for newspapers to qualify as legal publications while maintaining standards for public notice reliability. The bill also includes a provision allowing newspapers that suspend publication during wartime to be reinstated within one year after hostilities cease, preserving their legal publication status.

Government Affairs

https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB353&year=2025&code=R