AN ACT relating to public notices.

UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 481
Page 1 of 6
XXXX 9/12/2025 12:45 PM Jacketed
AN ACT relating to public notices. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 424.260 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) Except where a statute specifically fixes a larger sum as the minimum for a 4
requirement of advertisement for bids, a[no] city, county, or district, or board or 5
commission of a city or county, or sheriff or county clerk, shall not[may] make a 6
contract, lease, or other agreement for: 7
(a) Materials; 8
(b) Supplies, except perishable foods such as meat, poultry, fish, egg products, 9
fresh vegetables, and fresh fruits; 10
(c) Equipment, except vehicles and equipment installed in the vehicle; or 11
(d) Contractual services other than professional; 12
involving an expenditure of more than sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) [forty 13
thousand dollars ($40,000)] without first making newspaper advertis ement or by 14
using the alternative publication procedures set out in Section 2 of this Act for 15
bids. This subsection shall not apply to the transfer of property between 16
governmental agencies as authorized in KRS 82.083(4)(a). 17
(2) If the fiscal court require s that the sheriff or county clerk advertise for bids on 18
expenditures of less than sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) [forty thousand dollars 19
($40,000)], the fiscal court requirement shall prevail. 20
(3) (a) Nothing in this statute shall limit or restrict the a bility of a local school district 21
to acquire supplies and equipment outside of the bidding procedure if those 22
supplies and equipment meet the specifications of the contracts awarded by 23
the Office of Material and Procurement Services in the Office of the 24
Controller within the Finance and Administration Cabinet or a federal, local, 25
or cooperative agency and are available for purchase elsewhere at a lower 26
price. A board of education may purchase those supplies and equipment 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 481
Page 2 of 6
XXXX 9/12/2025 12:45 PM Jacketed
without advertising for bids if, pri or to making the purchases, the board of 1
education obtains certification from the district's finance or purchasing officer 2
that the items to be purchased meet the standards and specifications fixed by 3
state price contract, federal (GSA) price contract, or the bid of another school 4
district whose bid specifications allow other districts to utilize their bids, and 5
that the sales price is lower than that established by the various price contract 6
agreements or available through the bid of another school distric t whose bid 7
specifications would allow the district to utilize their bid. 8
(b) The procedures set forth in paragraph (a) of this subsection shall not be 9
available to the district for any specific item once the bidding procedure has 10
been initiated by an invi tation to bid and a publication of specifications for 11
that specific item has been published. In the event that all bids are rejected, 12
the district may again avail itself of the provisions of paragraph (a) of this 13
subsection. 14
(4) This requirement shall not apply in an emergency if the chief executive officer of 15
the city, county, or district has duly certified that an emergency exists, and has filed 16
a copy of the certificate with the chief financial officer of the city, county, or 17
district, or if the sheriff or the county clerk has certified that an emergency exists, 18
and has filed a copy of the certificate with the clerk of the court where his necessary 19
office expenses are fixed pursuant to KRS 64.345 or 64.530, or if the 20
superintendent of the board of educati on has duly certified that an emergency 21
exists, and has filed a copy of the certificate with the chief state school officer. 22
(5) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply for the purchase of 23
wholesale electric power for resale to the ultimate customers of a municipal utility 24
organized under KRS 96.550 to 96.900. 25
(6) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to purchases for products or services 26
made pursuant to KRS 82.084. 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 481
Page 3 of 6
XXXX 9/12/2025 12:45 PM Jacketed
Section 2. KRS 424.145 is amended to read as follows: 1
(1) As used in this section: 2
(a) "Local government" means any: 3
1. [Any ]Urban-county government; 4
2. [Any ]Consolidated local government; 5
3. [Any ]Charter county; 6
4. [Any ]Unified local government;[ and] 7
5. [In Any ] County;[ containing a population of eighty thousand (80,000) 8
or more based upon the most recent federal decennial census, the county 9
itself or any:] 10
6.[a.] City[ within the county]; 11
7.[b.] Special district[ within the county]; 12
8.[c.] School district; or[ within the county; or] 13
9.[d.] Special purpose governmental entity[ within the county]; and 14
(b) "Notice website" means a website tha t is maintained by a local government or 15
a third party under contract with the local government, which contains links to 16
the legal advertisements or notices electronically published by the local 17
government. 18
(2) Local governments may satisfy the requirement s of this chapter or any other 19
provision of law requiring the publication of an advertisement in a newspaper by 20
following the alternative procedures established in this section. 21
(3) In lieu of newspaper publication, a local government may post the required 22
advertisement online on a notice website operated by the local government that is 23
accessible to the public at all times in accordance with subsections (4) to (9) of this 24
section. Publication of an advertisement shall be deemed to have occurred on the 25
date the advertisement is posted on the local government's notice website. 26
(4) (a) In conjunction with an alternative internet posting, the local government shall 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 481
Page 4 of 6
XXXX 9/12/2025 12:45 PM Jacketed
publish a newspaper advertisement one (1) time providing notice that the 1
public may view the full advertisement on the notice website. The newspaper 2
advertisement shall: 3
1. Be not more than six (6) column inches and meet the technical 4
requirements of KRS 424.160(1); 5
2. Be published within ten (10) days of the alternative posting on the notice 6
website when the purpose of the posting is to inform the public of a 7
completed act, including those acts specified in KRS 424.130(1)(a), or 8
within three (3) days of the posting when the purpose of the posting is to 9
inform the public of the right to take a certain action, including the 10
events specified in KRS 424.130(1)(b) and (d); 11
3. Inform the public of the subject matter of the alternative posting, inform 12
the public of its right to inspect any documents associated with the 13
internet posting by contacting the local government, and provide a 14
mailing and a physical address where a copy of th e document may be 15
obtained and the web address if the document is available online; and 16
4. Provide the full Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the notice website 17
address and the full Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the address 18
where the full advertisement may be directly viewed along with a 19
telephone number for the local government. 20
(b) A local government may, alternatively, publish an advertisement one (1) time 21
providing notice that the public may view the full advertisement on the notice 22
website in a dig ital newspaper that meets the qualifications discussed in KRS 23
424.120, so long as the advertisement complies with paragraph (a)2.,[(a) 2.,] 24
3., and 4. of this subsection. 25
(5) In addition to specific legal requirements applicable to a particular type of 26
advertisement: 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 481
Page 5 of 6
XXXX 9/12/2025 12:45 PM Jacketed
(a) The contents of each alternative internet posting shall meet the minimum 1
requirements of KRS 424.140; and 2
(b) The local government shall make the alternative internet posting in 3
accordance with the times and periods established by KRS 424.1 30, and shall 4
actively maintain the alternative internet posting on its public website: 5
1. Until the deadline passes or the event occurs if the substance of the 6
advertisement is intended to advise the public of a time to take action or 7
the occurrence of a future event; 8
2. For at least ninety (90) days if the substance of the advertisement is to 9
inform the public of an action taken by the local government, such as the 10
enactment of an ordinance; or 11
3. For one (1) year or until updated or replaced with a more recent version 12
if the substance of the advertisement is intended to inform the public 13
about the financial status of the local government, such as annual audits 14
or the budget. 15
(6) The local government shall display access to any and all alternative internet 16
postings made pursuant to this section prominently on the homepage or first page of 17
the notice website. The section of the notice website containing any postings and 18
the actual advertisement shall be made in a manner where the public can readily and 19
with minimal effort identify the location of and easily retrieve the advertisements. 20
(7) The local government shall provide a conspicuous statement on its notice website 21
that individuals who have difficulty in accessing the contents of posted 22
advertisements may contact the local government for information regarding 23
alternative methods of accessing advertisements, which shall include the telephone 24
number of the local government. 25
(8) As proof of an alternative internet posting to satisfy any newspaper publication 26
requirement, the local government shall memorialize the posting by capturing the 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 481
Page 6 of 6
XXXX 9/12/2025 12:45 PM Jacketed
posting in electronic or paper format and shall complete an affidavit signed by the 1
person responsible for causing publications under KRS 424.150, stating that the 2
local gover nment satisfied the publication requirement by alternative internet 3
posting. The affidavit shall specify the active dates of the notice website posting, 4
the specific statutory requirements being satisfied by the alternative internet 5
posting, and the notice website address where the alternative posting was located, 6
including the full Uniform Resource Locator (URL) used for the posting. The local 7
government shall retain the captured posting and the affidavit by the person 8
responsible for publication for a per iod of three (3) years. Together, the captured 9
posting and the affidavit shall constitute prima facie evidence that the posting was 10
made and occurred as stated within the affidavit. 11
(9) The failure to cause the newspaper advertisement required in subsectio n (4) of this 12
section shall not void the action of the local government or negate the enforceability 13
of the matter advertised by alternative internet posting. Any person who violates the 14
requirements of subsection (4) of this section shall be subject to th e penalties 15
provided in KRS 424.990. 16