To repeal section 493.050, RSMo 1994, relating to publication of legal notices, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to the same subject.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS:

     Section A. Section 493.050, RSMo 1994, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof to be known as section 493.050, to read as follows:

     493.050. 1. Except as provided in subsection 2 of this section, all public advertisements and orders of publication required by law to be made and all legal publications affecting the title to real estate, shall be published in some daily, triweekly, semiweekly or weekly newspaper of general circulation in the county where located and which shall have been admitted to the post office as [second] periodicals class matter in the city of publication; shall have been published regularly and consecutively for a period of three years[;], except that a newspaper of general circulation which is the successor to a defunct newspaper of general circulation can interrupt publication for up to a total of thirty consecutive days; shall have a list of bona fide subscribers voluntarily engaged as such, who have paid or agreed to pay a stated price for a subscription for a definite period of time; provided, that when a public notice, required by law, to be published once a week for a given number of weeks, shall be published in a daily, triweekly, semiweekly or weekly newspaper, the notice shall appear once a week, on the same day of each week, and further provided, that every affidavit to proof of publication shall state that the newspaper in which such notice was published has complied with the provisions of this [section] subsection; provided further, that the duration of consecutive publication [herein] provided for in this subsection shall not affect newspapers which have become legal publications prior to the effective date of this section; provided, however, that when any newspaper shall be forced to suspend publication in any time of war, due to the owner or publisher being inducted into the armed forces of the United States, the [same] newspaper may be reinstated within one year after actual hostilities [shall] have ceased, with all the benefits [under] provided pursuant to the provisions of this [section] subsection, upon the filing with the secretary of state of notice of intention of [said] such owner or publisher, [his widow] the owner's surviving spouse or legal heirs, to republish [said] such newspaper, setting forth the name of the publication, its volume and number, its frequency of publication, and its readmission to the post office where it was previously entered as [second] periodicals class mail matter, and when it shall have a list of bona fide subscribers voluntarily engaged as such who have paid or agreed to pay a stated price for subscription for a definite period of time. All laws or parts of laws in conflict with this section except sections 493.070 to 493.120, are hereby repealed.

     2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1 of this section to the contrary, in any county of the first classification with a population in excess of one hundred seventy thousand and less than two hundred thousand which does not have a daily newspaper published within such county with a bona fide list of subscribers located in such county comprising at least two percent of the population, all public advertisements and orders of publication required by law to be made and all legal publications affecting the title to real estate in such county shall be published in some daily, triweekly, semiweekly or weekly newspaper of general circulation in such county. The newspaper shall have been published regularly and consecutively for a period of three years; shall have a known office of publication in such county, open to the public, where the business or publication of the newspaper is transacted during the usual business hours; shall bear a fixed title or name, date lines and numbered volume sequence; shall be published and printed in an accepted newspaper format, generally in sheet form, standard size or tabloid size; and shall contain an average of twenty-five percent news and editorial content in its issues during any twelve month period. By December thirty- first of each calendar year, the newspaper shall submit to the secretary of state, along with a filing fee of twenty-five dollars, a statement of ownership and circulation covering a period of not less than one year ending no earlier than the June thirtieth preceding the filing deadline. The statement of ownership and circulation shall be verified by a recognized independent circulation auditing company and shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:

     (1) The date the statement was prepared by the newspaper and submitted to the secretary of state;

     (2) The name, address and telephone number of the newspaper, the owner of the newspaper and the publisher of the newspaper; and

     (3) For each issue the average number of copies printed, the average number of copies circulated and the average number of copies distributed during the twelve month period covered by the statement.

The term news and editorial content for the purpose of this section means any news, pictures, features, editorials and other matters of general interest, but shall not include advertisements, classified or display. Percentages shall be determined on the basis of the number of columns and inches published in each edition. When a public notice, required by law, to be published once a week for a given number of weeks, shall be published in a daily, triweekly, semiweekly or weekly newspaper, the notice shall appear once a week on the same day of each week. Every affidavit for proof of publication shall state that the newspaper in which such notice was published has complied with the provisions of this subsection.