Minnesota Legislature
Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 2004, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 182-H.F.No. 2270
An act relating to official publications; changing
provisions for publication of public notices in
newspapers; requiring a report; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2002, sections 279.09; 279.092; 331A.01,
subdivisions 2, 3, 6, 9, 10; 331A.02, subdivisions 1,
3, 4, by adding a subdivision; 331A.03, subdivision 1,
by adding a subdivision; 331A.04, as amended; 331A.05,
subdivisions 3, 4, 5, 7, by adding a subdivision;
331A.06, subdivision 3, by adding a subdivision;
331A.07; 331A.08, by adding a subdivision; 331A.09;
331A.10, subdivision 1; 331A.11, subdivisions 1, 2;
375.12, subdivision 2; 375.17, subdivision 1; 412.191,
subdivision 3; 471.698, subdivision 1; repealing
Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 331A.01, subdivision
5; 331A.02, subdivision 2.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 279.09, is
amended to read:
279.09 [PUBLICATION OF NOTICE AND LIST.]
The county auditor shall cause the notice and list of
delinquent real property to be published once in each of two
consecutive weeks in the newspaper designated, the first
publication of which shall be made on or before March 20
immediately following the filing of such list with the court
administrator of the district court, and the second not less
than two weeks later. The auditor county shall deliver such
the list to the publisher of the newspaper designated, at least
20 ten days before the date upon which the list shall is to be
published for the first time. Not less than five days before
the second publication, the county shall submit a revised list
to the newspaper. A taxpayer who has paid delinquent taxes
since the first publication must be removed by the county from
the second publication.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 279.092, is
amended to read:
279.092 [PUBLICATION AND RELATED COSTS.]
The county auditor shall assess a service fee of the
greater of (a) $10.00, or (b) the amount determined by the
county board as reasonably necessary to recover all costs
incurred, against each parcel included in the delinquent tax
list filed pursuant to section 279.05. The unpaid fees shall
constitute a lien against the property in the manner provided in
section 272.31 for unpaid taxes. When the fee is collected, the
general revenue fund of the county shall be credited to defray
costs incurred by the county auditor and the court administrator
of district court to prepare and publish the delinquent tax list
and to enter judgment if no answer is filed.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.01,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [KNOWN OFFICE OF ISSUE.] "Known office of issue"
means the newspaper's principal office maintained by the
publisher or managing officer during a newspaper's regular
business hours to gather news and sell advertisements and
subscriptions, whether or not printing or any other operations
of the newspaper are conducted at or from the office, and
devoted primarily to business related to the newspaper devoted
primarily to business related to the newspaper, whether or not
printing or any other operations of the newspaper are conducted
at or from the office. A newspaper may have only one known
office of issue.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.01,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [LOCAL PUBLIC CORPORATION POLITICAL SUBDIVISION.]
"Local public corporation" "Political subdivision" means a
county, municipality, school district, or any other local
political subdivision or local or area district, commission,
board, or authority.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.01,
subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. [PROCEEDINGS.] "Proceedings" means the substance
of all official actions taken by the governing body of a local
public corporation political subdivision at any regular or
special meeting, and at minimum includes the subject matter of a
motion, the persons making and seconding a motion, the roll call
vote on a motion, the character of resolutions or ordinances
offered, including a brief description of their subject matter,
and whether defeated or adopted.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.01,
subdivision 9, is amended to read:
Subd. 9. [SECONDARY OFFICE.] "Secondary office" means an
office established by a newspaper in a community other than that
in which its known office of issue is located, in the same or an
adjoining county, to enhance its coverage of and service to that
community, open on a regular basis to gather news and sell
advertisements and subscriptions, whether or not printing or any
other operations of the newspaper are conducted at or from the
office, and devoted primarily to business related to the
newspaper.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.01,
subdivision 10, is amended to read:
Subd. 10. [SUMMARY.] "Summary" means an accurate and
intelligible abstract or synopsis of the essential elements of
proceedings, ordinances, resolutions, financial statements, and
other official actions. It shall be written in a clear and
coherent manner, and shall, to the extent possible, avoid the
use of technical or legal terms not generally familiar to the
public. When a summary is published, the publication shall
clearly indicate that the published material is only a summary
and that the full text is available for public inspection at a
designated location or by standard or electronic mail. A
summary published in conformity with this section shall be
deemed to fulfill all legal publication requirements as
completely as if the entire matter which was summarized had been
published. No liability shall be asserted against the local
public corporation a political subdivision in connection with
the publication of a summary or agenda.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.02,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [QUALIFICATION.] No newspaper in this state
shall be entitled to any compensation or fee for publishing any
public notice unless it is a qualified as a medium of official
and legal publication newspaper. A newspaper that is not
qualified must inform a public body that presents a public
notice for publication that it is not qualified. To be
qualified as a medium of official and legal publication, a
newspaper shall:
(a) be printed in the English language in newspaper format
and in column and sheet form equivalent in printed space to at
least 1,000 square inches, or 800 square inches if the local
public corporation political subdivision the newspaper purports
to serve has a population of under 1,300 and the newspaper does
not receive a public subsidy;
(b) if a daily, be distributed at least five days each
week, or. If not a daily, the newspaper may be distributed at
least once each week, twice a month for 50 weeks each year with
respect to the publishing of government public notices. In any
week in which a legal holiday is included, not more than four
issues of a daily paper are necessary;
(c) in at least half of its issues each year, have no more
than 75 percent of its printed space comprised of advertising
material and paid public notices. In all of its issues each
year, have 25 percent, if published more often than weekly, or
50 percent, if weekly, of its news columns devoted to news of
local interest to the community which it purports to serve. Not
more than 25 percent of its total nonadvertising column inches
in any issue may wholly duplicate any other publication unless
the duplicated material is from recognized general news
services;
(d) be circulated in the local public corporation political
subdivision which it purports to serve, and either have at least
500 copies regularly delivered to paying subscribers, or 250
copies delivered to paying subscribers if the local public
corporation political subdivision it purports to serve has a
population of under 1,300, or have at least 500 copies regularly
distributed without charge to local residents, or 250 copies
distributed without charge to local residents if the local
public corporation political subdivision it purports to serve
has a population of under 1,300;
(e) have its known office of issue established in either
the county in which lies, in whole or in part, the local public
corporation political subdivision which the newspaper purports
to serve, or in an adjoining county;
(f) file a copy of each issue immediately with the State
Historical Society;
(g) be made available at single or subscription prices to
any person, corporation, partnership, or other unincorporated
association entity requesting the newspaper and making the
applicable payment, or be distributed without charge to local
residents;
(h) have complied with all the foregoing conditions of this
subdivision for at least one year immediately preceding the date
of the notice publication;
(i) between September 1 and December 31 of each year
publish a sworn United States Post Office periodicals-class
statement of ownership and circulation or a statement of
ownership and circulation verified by a recognized independent
circulation auditing agency covering a period of at least one
year ending no earlier than the June 30 preceding the
publication deadline. When publication occurs after December 31
and before July 1, qualification shall be effective from the
date of the filing described in paragraph (j) through December
31 of that year; and
(j) after publication, submit to the secretary of state by
December 31 a filing containing the newspaper's name, address of
its known office of issue, telephone number, and a statement
that it has complied with all of the requirements of this
section. The filing must be accompanied by a fee of $25. The
secretary of state shall make available for public inspection a
list of newspapers that have filed. Acceptance of a filing does
not constitute a guarantee by the state that any other
qualification has been met.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.02,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [PUBLICATION; SUSPENSION; CHANGES.] The following
circumstances shall not affect the qualification of a newspaper,
invalidate an otherwise valid publication, or invalidate a
designation as official newspaper for publication of county
board proceedings.
(a) Suspension of publication for a period of not more than
three consecutive months resulting from the destruction of its
known office of issue, equipment, or other facility by the
elements, unforeseen accident, or acts of God or by reason of a
labor dispute.
(b) The consolidation of one newspaper with another
published in the same county, or a change in its name or
ownership, or a temporary change in its known office of issue.
(c) Change of the day of publication, the frequency of
publication, or the change of the known office of issue from one
place to another within the same county. Except as provided in
this subdivision, suspension of publication, or a change of
known office of issue from one county to another, or failure to
maintain its known office of issue in the county, shall deprive
a newspaper of its standing as a medium of official and legal
publication qualified newspaper until the newspaper it again
becomes qualified pursuant to subdivision 1.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.02,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [DECLARATORY JUDGMENT OF LEGALITY.] Any A person
interested in the standing as a medium of official and legal
publication of a newspaper, newspaper's qualification under this
section may petition the district court in the county in which
the newspaper has its known office of issue for a declaratory
judgment to determine whether the newspaper is qualified as a
medium of official and legal publication. Unless filed by the
publisher, the petition and summons shall be served on the
publisher as in other civil actions. Service in other cases
shall be made by publication of the petition and summons once
each week for three successive weeks in the newspaper or
newspapers the court may order and upon the persons as the court
may direct. Publications made in a newspaper after a judgment
that it is qualified but before the judgment is vacated or set
aside shall be valid. Except as provided in this subdivision,
the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act and the Rules of Civil
Procedure shall apply to the action.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.02, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 5. [POSTING NOTICES ON WEB SITE.] If, in the normal
course of its business, a qualified newspaper maintains a Web
site, then as a condition of accepting and publishing public
notices, the newspaper must agree to post all the notices on its
Web site at no additional cost. The notice must remain on the
Web site during the notice's full publication period. Failure
to post or maintain a public notice on the newspaper's Web site
does not affect the validity of the public notice.
Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.03,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [GENERALLY.] Except as provided in
subdivision 2, a public notice shall be published in a qualified
newspaper, and except as otherwise provided by law, in one that
is likely to give notice in the affected area or to whom it is
directed. When a statute or other law requires publication in a
newspaper located in a designated municipality political
subdivision or area and no qualified newspaper is located there,
publication shall be made in a qualified newspaper likely to
give notice unless the particular statute or law expressly
provides otherwise. If no qualified newspaper exists, then
publication is not required.
Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.03, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 3. [ALTERNATIVE DISSEMINATION OF BIDS AND
REQUESTS.] (a) In addition to or as an alternative to the
statutory requirements for newspaper publication, a political
subdivision may disseminate solicitations of bids, requests for
information, and requests for proposals by a means authorized in
paragraph (b), if the political subdivision simultaneously
publishes, either as part of the minutes of a regular meeting of
the governing body or in a separate notice published in the
official newspaper, a description of all solicitations or
requests so disseminated, along with the means by which the
dissemination occurred.
(b) A political subdivision may use its Web site or
recognized industry trade journals as an alternative means of
dissemination. A dissemination by alternative means must be in
substantially the same format and for the same period of time as
a publication required by this chapter.
(c) For the first six months after a political subdivision
designates an alternative means of dissemination, it must
continue to publish solicitation of bids, requests for
information, and requests for proposals in the official
newspaper in addition to the alternative method. The
publication in the official newspaper must indicate where to
find the designated alternative method. After the expiration of
the six-month period, an alternative means of dissemination
satisfies the publication requirements of law for solicitation
of bids, requests for information, and requests for proposals.
Sec. 14. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.04, as
amended by Laws 2003, chapter 59, section 1, is amended to read:
331A.04 [DESIGNATION OF A NEWSPAPER FOR OFFICIAL
PUBLICATIONS.]
Subdivision 1. [PRIORITY.] The governing body of any local
public corporation a political subdivision, when authorized or
required by statute or charter to designate a newspaper for
publication of its official proceedings and public notices,
shall designate a qualified newspaper which is a qualified
medium of official and legal publication in the following
priority.
Subd. 2. [KNOWN OFFICE IN LOCALITY.] If there are one or
more qualified newspapers, the known office of issue of which
are located within the local public corporation political
subdivision, one of them shall be designated.
Subd. 3. [SECONDARY OFFICE IN LOCALITY.] When no qualified
newspaper has a known office of issue located in the local
public corporation political subdivision, but one or more
qualified newspapers maintain a secondary office there, one of
them shall be designated.
Subd. 4. [GENERAL CIRCULATION IN LOCALITY.] When no
qualified newspaper has its known office of issue or a secondary
office located within the local public corporation political
subdivision, then a qualified newspaper of general circulation
there shall be designated.
Subd. 5. [OTHER SITUATIONS.] If a local public corporation
political subdivision is without an official newspaper, or if
the publisher refuses to publish a particular public notice,
matters required to be published shall be published in a
newspaper designated as provided in subdivision 4. The
governing body of a local public corporation political
subdivision with territory in two or more counties may, if
deemed in the public interest, designate a separate qualified
newspaper for each county.
Subd. 6. [EXCEPTION TO DESIGNATION PRIORITY.] (a)
Notwithstanding subdivisions 1 to 3, the governing body of a
local public corporation political subdivision may designate any
newspaper for publication of its official proceedings and public
notices, if the following conditions are met:
(1) the newspaper is a qualified medium of official and
legal publication;
(2) the publisher of the newspaper furnishes a sworn
statement, verified by a recognized independent circulation
auditing agency, covering a period of at least one year ending
no earlier than 60 days before designation of the newspaper,
stating that the newspaper's circulation reaches not fewer than
75 percent of the households within the public corporation
political subdivision;
(3) the newspaper has provided regular coverage of the
proceedings of the governing body of the local public
corporation political subdivision and will continue to do so;
and
(4) the governing body votes unanimously to designate the
newspaper.
(b) If the circulation of a newspaper designated under this
subdivision falls below 75 percent of the households within the
public local corporation political subdivision at any time
within the term of its designation as official newspaper, its
qualification to publish public notices for the local public
corporation political subdivision terminates.
Subd. 7. [JOINT BIDDING.] A bid submitted jointly by two
or more newspapers for the publication of public notices must
not be considered anticompetitive or otherwise unlawful if the
following conditions are met:
(1) all of the qualified newspapers in the political
subdivision participate in the joint bid;
(2) the existence of the joint bid arrangement is disclosed
to the governing body of the political subdivision before or at
the time of submission of the joint bid; and
(3) the board is free to reject the joint bid and, if it
does, individual qualified newspapers do not refuse to submit
separate bids owing to the rejection of the joint bid.
Sec. 15. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.05,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [TYPE FACE.] Except as otherwise directed by a
particular statute requiring publication of a public notice or
by order of a court, a public notice shall be printed in a type
face no smaller than six point with a lowercase alphabet of at
least 90 point points. Larger type faces may be used.
Sec. 16. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.05,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [TITLE OR CAPTION.] Every public notice shall
include a bold face title or caption in a body type no smaller
than brevier or eight point referring to the content of the
notice. Larger type faces may be used.
Sec. 17. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.05,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [LOCAL OPTIONS.] The governing body of a local
public corporation political subdivision may, to better inform
the public, increase the frequency of publication of a public
notice beyond the minimum required by a particular statute. It
may use forms and styles for the notice as it deems appropriate,
including the use of display advertisements and graphics. It
may publish or disseminate the notice in other newspapers in
addition to the newspaper required to be designated under
section 331A.04. In addition to publication in the newspaper
required to be designated under section 331A.04, it may publish
or disseminate the notice in other newspapers and by means of
standard and electronic mail. Regardless of whether a
particular statute specifies "legal notice," "public notice,"
"notice," or uses similar terms, the governing body may use
whatever form for the published notice that it deems appropriate
in order to adequately inform the public, subject to the
requirements of sections 331A.01 to 331A.11. Nothing in the
foregoing provisions of this subdivision shall require the
governing body of a local public corporation political
subdivision to use the options described.
Sec. 18. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.05,
subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7. [ERRORS IN PUBLICATION.] If through no fault of
the local public corporation political subdivision, an error
occurs in the publication of a public notice, the error shall
have no effect on the validity of the event, action, or
proceeding to which the public notice relates.
Sec. 19. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.05, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 8. [NOTICE REGARDING PUBLISHED SUMMARIES.] If a
political subdivision elects to publish a summary of the
political subdivision's financial statement or proceedings as
authorized by other law, it must include with the published
summary a notice stating that a copy of the full version of the
financial statement or proceedings other than attachments to the
minutes is available without cost at the offices of the
political subdivision or by means of standard or electronic mail.
Sec. 20. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.06,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. When the governing board of a local public
corporation political subdivision awards a contract for the
publication of public notices based on competitive bidding, the
rate established by the competitive bidding shall be the rate
charged for publication of the public notices.
Sec. 21. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.06, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 5. [MULTIYEAR PUBLICATION
CONTRACTS.] Notwithstanding other law, a political subdivision
may enter into multiyear contracts with a qualified newspaper
for publication of the political subdivision's public notices.
No multiyear contract may be for a term longer than three years.
Sec. 22. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.07, is
amended to read:
331A.07 [AFFIDAVIT OF PUBLICATION.]
No compensation shall be recoverable for publishing legal
or official matter in any newspaper not qualified, until there
is filed with the county auditor the affidavit of a person
having knowledge of the facts, showing the name and location of
the newspaper and the existence of conditions constituting its
qualifications as a qualified newspaper as set forth in section
331A.02. If the matter published relates to proceedings in
another county, a like affidavit must be filed with its
auditor. The affidavit, if it states the required facts, shall
be prima facie evidence of them and of the qualification. No
compensation shall be recoverable for publishing legal or
official matter a public notice in any newspaper unless the bill
is accompanied by an affidavit of the publisher of the newspaper
or the publisher's designated agent, having knowledge of the
facts, setting forth the fact stating that the newspaper has
complied with all the requirements to constitute a legal
qualified newspaper. The affidavit must set forth the dates of
the month and year and the day of the week upon which the legal
or official matter public notice was published in the
newspaper. The affidavit must also include the publisher's
lowest classified rate paid by commercial users for comparable
space, as determined pursuant to section 331A.06, the maximum
charge allowable by law for the publication of the specific
legal or official matter in question, and the rate actually
charged for that publication.
Sec. 23. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.08, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 3. [PUBLICATION OF PROCEEDINGS.] Notwithstanding
other statutory publication requirements, if the governing body
of a political subdivision conducts regular meetings not more
than once every 30 days, the governing body need not publish the
meeting minutes in the official newspaper until ten days after
the proceedings have been approved by the governing body.
Sec. 24. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.09, is
amended to read:
331A.09 [PUBLICATION ON SUNDAY OR HOLIDAY.]
Any public notice may lawfully be printed in a newspaper
published on a Sunday, and the publication is a lawful
publication and a full compliance with the order of the court or
officer ordering the publication or holiday. Any notice that,
by law or the order of any court, is required to be published
for any given number of weeks may be published on any day in
each week or of the term, and if published as many weeks and as
many times in each week as required by the law or order, it is a
lawful publication.
Sec. 25. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.10,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [CHANGE OF NAME.] When a legal public
notice is required or ordered to be published in a particular
newspaper and the name of the newspaper is changed before the
publication is completed, the publication shall be made or
continued in the newspaper under its new name with the same
effect as if the name had not been changed. The proof of the
publication, in addition to other requirements, shall state the
change of name and specify the period of publication in the
newspaper under each name.
Sec. 26. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.11,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [APPLY APPLICATION.] Sections 331A.01 to
331A.11 apply to all municipalities and local public
corporations political subdivisions of the state.
Sec. 27. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.11,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [DO NOT APPLY NOTICES EXCLUDED.] Sections 331A.01
to 331A.11 do not apply to notices required by private
agreements or local laws to be published in newspapers, unless
they refer expressly or by implication to sections 331A.01 to
331A.11, this chapter or to particular provisions of sections
331A.01 to 331A.11 this chapter.
Sec. 28. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 375.12,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [SMALL CLAIMS TOTALED.] Individualized itemized
accounts, claims or demands allowed by the county board pursuant
to section 471.38, subdivision 1, need not be published pursuant
to subdivision 1, if the amount allowed from each claim
is $100 $300 or less. The official proceedings following the
itemization of accounts required shall contain a statement
showing the total number of claims that did not exceed $100 $300
and their total dollar amount.
Sec. 29. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 375.17,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [STATEMENT CONTENTS; SUMMARIES.] Annually,
not later than the first Tuesday after the first Monday in
March, the county board shall make a full and accurate statement
of the receipts and expenditures of the preceding year, which
shall contain a statement of the assets and liabilities, a
summary of receipts, disbursements, and balances of all county
funds together with a detailed statement of each fund account,
under the form and style prescribed by and on file with the
state auditor. The prescribed form and any changes or
modifications of it shall so far as practical be uniform for all
counties and be approved by the attorney general and the state
printer. Annually the board shall publish the statement or a
summary of the statement in a form as prescribed by the state
auditor, for one issue in a duly qualified legal newspaper in
the county.
Sec. 30. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 412.191,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [PUBLICATION OF PROCEEDINGS.] The council, after
every regular or special meeting, shall publish the official
council proceedings, or a summary conforming to section 331A.01,
subdivision 10, or a condensed version of the official minutes
which shall include action on motions, resolutions, ordinances,
and other official proceedings. As an alternative to
publication, the city may mail, at city expense, a copy of the
proceedings to any resident upon request. The publication shall
occur within 30 days of the meeting to which the proceedings
relate. Cities with a population of less than 1,000 according
to the latest federal census are not required to comply with
this section, but may do so at their discretion.
Sec. 31. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 471.698,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [ALL OPERATIONS EXCEPT SOME HOSPITALS,
NURSING HOMES.] In any city with a population of less than 2,500
according to the latest federal census, the city clerk or chief
financial officer shall:
(a) Prepare a detailed statement of the financial affairs
of the city including operations of municipal hospitals and
nursing homes, liquor stores, and public utility commissions in
the style and form prescribed by the state auditor, for the
preceding fiscal year showing all money received, with the
sources, and respective amounts thereof; all disbursements for
which orders have been drawn upon the treasurer; the amount of
outstanding and unpaid orders; all accounts payable; all
indebtedness; contingent liabilities; all accounts receivable;
the amount of money remaining in the treasury; and all items
necessary to show accurately the revenues and expenditures and
financial position of the city;
(b) File the statement in the clerk's or financial
officer's office for the public inspection and present it to the
city council within 45 days after the close of the fiscal year;
(c) (1) Publish the statement, or a summary of the
statement in a form as prescribed by the state auditor, within
90 days after the close of the fiscal year in a qualified
newspaper of general circulation in the city; or
(2) If there is no qualified newspaper of general
circulation in the city, the clerk shall, at the direction of
the city council, post copies in three of the most public places
in the city; or
(3) If city council proceedings are published monthly or
quarterly, showing to whom and for what purpose orders are drawn
upon the treasurer, the annual statement to be published as
required by this section may be summarized in such form as the
state auditor may prescribe. It is not necessary to publish
individual disbursements of less than $100 $300, if
disbursements aggregating $1,000 or more to any person, firm, or
other entity are set forth in a schedule of major disbursements
showing amounts paid out, to whom, and for what purpose, and are
made a part of and published with the financial statement; and
(d) Submit within 90 days after the close of the fiscal
year a copy of the statement to the state auditor in such
summary form as the state auditor may prescribe.
A municipal hospital or nursing home established before
June 6, 1979 whose fiscal year is not a calendar year on August
1, 1980 is not subject to this subdivision but shall submit to
the state auditor a detailed statement of its financial affairs
audited by a certified public accountant, a public accountant or
the state auditor no later than 120 days after the close of its
fiscal year. It may also submit a summary financial report for
the calendar year.
Sec. 32. [REPORT ON PUBLIC NOTICE STATUTES.]
The revisor of statutes shall compile a list of all
statutes that require publication of public notices and submit
the report to the chairs of the government operations committees
of the house and senate by January 1, 2006.
Sec. 33. [REPEALER.]
Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 331A.01, subdivision 5;
and 331A.02, subdivision 2, are repealed.
Presented to the governor May 7, 2004
Signed by the governor May 10, 2004, 9:00 p.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes