Senate Bill 390 would change how local governments and local school administrative units in North Carolina contract for newspaper publication of required legal notices. It requires those contracts to be awarded annually through an informal bid process designed to maximize competition and obtain the best value for public funds, and it directs the contract to the lowest responsible, responsive bidder while considering quality, performance, circulation reach, cost, and compliance with existing newspaper-publication laws.
The bill also updates the state’s legal-advertising statute to tie payment for required newspaper notices to the contract awarded under the new bidding process, rather than simply capping payment at the local commercial rate. It preserves existing requirements that newspapers file sworn statements of their commercial advertising rates and keeps the misdemeanor penalty for violating that filing requirement. The act would take effect July 1, 2026, and apply to notices published on or after that date.
Impact
The bill would amend Chapter 143 of the General Statutes by adding a new procurement rule for publication of notices by local governments and school systems, and it would revise G.S. 1-596 to conform legal-advertising payments to the new contracting framework. In practice, it would affect counties, municipalities, local boards, school administrative units, and newspapers that publish statutory notices, potentially increasing competitive bidding pressure and changing how notice-publication contracts are awarded and priced.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the apparent sentiment is procedural and cost-focused rather than overtly partisan. The bill’s stated purpose is to increase competition and lower costs for public notice publication, suggesting support from sponsors for procurement efficiency and fiscal savings. No contrary views are documented in the supplied context.
Contention
The main point of contention likely concerns how the bill would affect local newspapers and the market for legal notices. Supporters would emphasize lower costs, competition, and transparency in public contracting, while critics may worry that prioritizing the lowest responsible bidder could disadvantage smaller or rural newspapers, reduce revenue for local press, or limit the reach and effectiveness of required public notices. Another possible issue is the bill’s interaction with existing newspaper eligibility and legal-advertising rules, including how “eligible newspaper” is determined when no local paper is available.
Modifies various provisions of State's renewable energy incentive programs; requires electric public utilities to consider interconnection applications for certain solar projects.