House Bill No. 439 Summary

• Allows governmental entities to electronically publish legal notices on their official websites instead of publishing in newspapers, with equivalent legal effect.

• Requires a clearly marked "Public Notices" tab on the governmental entity's homepage where all electronically published notices must be accessible.

• Governmental entities must maintain historical records of all postings including the time and date, and must still comply with all advance notice requirements and section 74-204 of Idaho Code.

• Electronic publication may be used in lieu of newspaper publication, but governmental entities are not required to develop or maintain electronic publication capabilities.

• Defines "electronically published" as the dissemination of legal notices through messaging on a governmental entity's website, and "messaging" as interconnected electronic networks that automatically transmit data between computers.