Wisconsin Statutes 985.03 – Qualifications of newspapers
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Terms Used In Wisconsin Statutes 985.03
- Bona fide paid circulation: means the paid circulation of a newspaper for which the publisher of the newspaper has actual print, digital, or electronic subscribers for each publication of not less than 1,000 copies for 1st and 2nd class cities or 300 copies for 3rd and 4th class cities, villages, or towns. See Wisconsin Statutes 985.01
- Following: when used by way of reference to any statute section, means the section next following that in which the reference is made. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Legal notice: means every notice required by law or by order of a court to be published in a newspaper or other publication, except notices required by private and local laws to be published in newspapers, and includes all of the following:
(a) Every publication of laws, ordinances, resolutions, financial statements, budgets and proceedings intended to give notice in an area. See Wisconsin Statutes 985.01Newspaper: includes a daily newspaper published in a county having a population of 750,000 or more, devoted principally to business news and publishing of records, which has been designated by the courts of record of the county for publication of legal notices for a period of 6 months or more. See Wisconsin Statutes 985.01 Person: includes all partnerships, associations and bodies politic or corporate. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01 Qualified: when applied to any person elected or appointed to office, means that such person has done those things which the person was by law required to do before entering upon the duties of the person's office. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01 State: when applied to states of the United States, includes the District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the several territories organized by Congress. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01 Town: may be construed to include cities, villages, wards or districts. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01 Village: means incorporated village. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01 Week: means 7 consecutive days. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01 Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed; "year" alone means "year of our Lord". See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
(1)
(a) Except as provided in par. (am), no publisher of any newspaper in this state shall be awarded or be entitled to any compensation or fee for the publishing of any legal notice unless the newspaper has had a bona fide paid circulation and one of the following applies:
1m. The newspaper has been published at least once each week for at least 50 consecutive issues prior to the first publication of the notice in the city, village, or town where published, or the newspaper can verify to the department of administration using postal records that the newspaper has been circulated to the minimum number of print, digital, or electronic subscribers required under s. 985.01 (1b) prior to the issuance of its mailing permit from its place of publication, as set forth in s. 985.01 (5).
2m. The newspaper is a successor to a newspaper described in subd. 1m. and the successor newspaper has resumed publication following succession within 30 days.
3. The newspaper has merged or consolidated with one or more newspapers and one of the newspapers subject to the consolidation or merger has been continuously published at regular intervals of at least once each week for at least 50 issues each year for at least one year prior to the first publication of the notice.
(am) If there is not a newspaper in a city, village, or town that satisfies the requirements under par. (a), the publisher of a newspaper that satisfies all of the following may be awarded or be entitled to compensation or a fee for the publishing of a legal notice:
1. The newspaper has been circulated at least once each week for at least 50 issues each year for one year prior to the first publication of the notice in the city, village, or town and publishing in the newspaper is likely to give notice in the area or to the affected person.
2. The newspaper is otherwise qualified under this section.
(b) Suspension of publication resulting from the mobilization of troops being called to active duty with the armed forces, strike, lockout or damage, or destruction due to war, fire or act of God, shall not count as an interval in publication.
(bm) A period of disqualification not to exceed 2 years due only to the place of publication shall not count as an interval in publication.
(cm) A newspaper in order to be eligible under this section shall also file a certificate with the county clerk stating that it qualifies under this section and stating its place of publication.
(2) Any person charged with the duty of causing legal notices to be published, and who causes any legal notice to be published in any newspaper not eligible to so publish under the requirements of sub. (1), or who fails to cause such legal notice to be published in any newspaper eligible under this section, may be fined not to exceed $100 for each offense. Each day in which a legal notice should have been but was not published as required by law shall constitute a separate offense hereunder.