Bill Summaries: H 51 EASTERN COUNTIES/PUBLIC NOTICES.

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  • Summary date: Feb 17 2021 - View Summary

    House committee substitute amends the 1st edition as follows. 

    Changes the scope of the act to the following counties only: Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Gates, Harnett, Hertford, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell, and Washington (previously did not include Carteret).

    Section 1

    No longer amends GS 153A-52. Instead, enacts GS 153A-52.3 to codify identical provisions as those previously proposed additions to GS 153A-52 regarding electronic public notice, with the following exceptions. Requires electronic notices published under an adopted ordinance to be published on the board of commissioners' website (rather than that of the governing board) within the time required by the applicable statute or local act. Adds a new requirement for the board of commissioners to maintain a website with sufficient staff to maintain the website if the board has adopted an ordinance pursuant to the statute. No longer includes county boards of election in the defined term governing board. Specifies that a county board of elections of a county where the board of county commissioners has adopted an ordinance is authorized to publish notices on the website of the board of county commissioners. Explicitly authorizes a city council to adopt an ordinance under the statute's provisions and publish notices in compliance with the statute's provisions through publication on the board of county commissioners' website where the city council is located if the county has also adopted an ordinance pursuant to the statute's provisions. Makes conforming changes regarding the scope of the act to the above specified counties. Makes conforming changes to the statutory references stated in the proposed changes to GS 160A-1, GS 153A-1, and GS 159-1. 

    Makes conforming changes to the proposed changes to GS 163-33, to allow election notices to be given by the county board of elections on the website of the county board of commissioners if the board of commissioners has adopted an ordinance pursuant to new GS 153A-52.3 (previously, authorized county boards of elections to adopt a policy pursuant to the previously proposed provisions to provide for electronic notices).

    Makes conforming changes regarding the scope of the act to specify that Section 1 only applies to the counties of Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Gates, Harnett, Hertford, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell, and Washington, and any municipality located wholly or in part in one of those counties, and applies to notices published on or after the date the act becomes law. 

    Section 2

    Makes conforming changes to proposed GS 1-602.1 (was, GS 1-602), which allows publishing of any notice permitted or required to be published in a newspaper, by contracting with a county who has adopted an ordinance authorizing the county to publish such notices on a county-maintained website maintained, to specify that the statute applies only to the counties of Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Gates, Harnett, Hertford, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell, and Washington. Makes technical changes. 

    Changes the act's long title.