BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3782

By: Smithee

State Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that due to many factors, especially the rise of digital news, some governmental entities may not have a source that meets the current requirements for providing public notice by publication in a newspaper, leaving the entity with no options for reaching the intended audience. C.S.H.B. 3782 seeks to address this issue by allowing governmental entities to satisfy public notice requirements in certain counties by publishing in qualifying digital newspapers.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3782 amends the Government Code to authorize a governmental entity, in lieu of publishing a notice in a newspaper in certain counties, to publish such notice in a digital newspaper if that digital newspaper meets the following criteria:

· has an audited paid-subscriber base;

· has been in business for at least three years;

· employs staff in the entity's jurisdiction;

· reports on local events and governmental activities in the entity's jurisdiction;

· provides news of general interest to people in the entity's jurisdiction; and

· updates its news at least once each week.

The bill applies to a notice published in a county with a population of at least 30,000 and not more than 42,000 that borders the Red River or in a county that does not have a newspaper meeting the following criteria published in the county:

· devotes not less than 25 percent of its total column lineage to general interest items;

· is published at least once each week;

· is entered as second-class postal matter in the county where the newspaper is published; and

· has been published regularly and continuously for at least 12 months before the notice is published.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 3782 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

Both the introduced and the substitute authorize a governmental entity to publish notice in a digital newspaper under certain conditions. However, the substitute includes the authorization in a statute section that applies to a notice published in a county bordering the Red River that meets a specified population threshold or in a county that does not have a newspaper meeting specified criteria published in the county, whereas the introduced included the authorization in a statute section that applies to newspaper notices generally but does not apply to those counties.