HARTFORD – Legislation that would have allowed towns and cities to publish truncated legal notices and save money had one foot in the recycle bin this afternoon, when Senate Majority Leader Martin M. Looney used a parliamentary move to sideline it – at least temporarily.
The bill was put on the “foot” of the Senate calendar, meaning it’s on life support with three weeks left in the legislative session.
Adam Joseph, spokesman for the Democratic Senate majority said it is still under consideration.
The bill, which was opposed by the Connecticut Daily Newspaper Association in a series of full-page newspaper ads, would allow towns and cities, when they are required by local charter or the law to advertise a legal notice in a local newspaper of general circulation, to instead only advertise a “brief description” of the issue.
An analysis of the bill, which was approved in the Government Administration & Elections Committee, says that under the legislation, towns and cities would be allowed to publish the full notice “in a conspicuous place on its website,” with a reference to the website published in the newspaper.