A Senate File was passed by the Iowa House of Representatives last week.

Representative for District 23 Ray Sorensen says that Senate File 2331, pertains to requirements for official publications. He mentions that the bill requires government entities to deliver the minutes of regular or special meetings, including total expenditures, to the newspaper they have named for official publications within 15 days. Expenditures will include all claims with the name of the person or firm making the claim, and the amounts of those claims.

Sorensen tells Raccoon Valley Radio another provision of the bill.

“It allows public notice to be published online via an official government website and a statewide public notice website when an official newspaper does not exist in a county. It also allows the creation of the statewide public notice website to be created and maintained by a group representing the majority of the newspapers in Iowa.”

Sorensen explains that this is something the legislature has been trying to pass for a few years now, as some of the counties with smaller populations don’t have a newspaper that could be used as an official publication. He adds that the Iowa Newspaper Association has always been against the bill, but this year legislators listened to the INA’s feedback, and worked with them to create something that they agreed with. The bill in its entirety can be found at this link.