Wisconsin Stat. § 985.05(1) requires that certain legal notices be published in a newspaper. Wisconsin Stat. § 985.03(1)(c) provides that a “newspaper” is a “publication appearing at regular intervals and at least once a week, containing reports of happenings of recent occurrence of a varied character, such as political, social, moral and religious subjects, designed to inform the general reader.” Counties lack statutory authority to issue publications containing such varied information, and the general reader does not refer to a county web site in order to obtain such information. Even if counties did possess statutory authority to publish newspapers as defined in Wis. Stat. § 985.03(1)(c), I am not persuaded that such publication could occur solely on a county’s web site. Although you cite Hernandez v. Alcorta, 2003 WL 22391311 (Terr. V.I., October 8, 2003) for the proposition that there are now “internet newspapers” that do not employ the method of sheet publication at all, providing a source of news on the internet is not providing a source of news on paper. Virtually anyone can buy a newspaper, but not everyone has a computer with access to the internet. Placing a legal notice on a county’s web site therefore does not constitute newspaper publication under Wis. Stat. § 985.05(1). In those situations where newspaper publication of legal notices is not mandatory under Wis. Stat. § 985.05(1), that statute provides that the county board “may, in lieu of newspaper publication, direct other form of publication or posting under s. 985.02(2).” Wisconsin Stat. § 985.03(1)(c) also explicitly states that a newspaper is a “publication.” A dictionary may be used to ascertain the meaning of non-technical terms used in a statute. Garcia v. Mazda Motor of America, 2004 WI 93, ¶ 14, 273 Wis. 2d 612, 682 N.W.2d 365. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary 1836 (1986) defines the noun “publication” as “2 a : the act or process of issuing copies . . . for general distribution to the public.” “[S]tatutory language is interpreted in the context which it is used; not in isolation but as part of a whole[.]” State ex rel. Kalal v. Circuit Court, 2004 WI 58, ¶ 46, 271 Wis. 2d 633, 681 N.W.2d 110. The phrase “other form of publication” in Wis. Stat. § 985.05(1) must be construed in the same sense as the phrase “newspaper publication” in that statute and in contradistinction to “posting” under Wis. Stat. § 985.05(2). Placing a legal notice on a county’s web site does not involve creating copies of the notice for general distribution in a manner similar to newspaper publication. Placing a legal notice on a county’s web site therefore is not an “other form of publication” within the meaning of Wis. Stat. § 985.05(2). In those situations where posting of a legal notice is authorized in lieu of newspaper publication, Wis. Stat. § 985.02(2)(a) provides that “[t]he notice must be posted in at least 3 public places likely to give notice to persons affected.” Since a county’s web site is not located in more than one place, placing a legal notice on a county’s web site cannot constitute posting in “3 public places” within the meaning of Wis. Stat. § 985.02(2)(a). The fact that a county’s web site is likely to give notice to persons affected by county proceedings does not mean that such a web site is a “public place” within the meaning of Wis. Stat. § 985.02(2)(a). The amendment to Wis. Stat. § 985.02(2)(a) requiring that posting occur in three public places was enacted in 1965. Ch. 252, sec. 280, Laws of 1965. When that language was enacted, the Legislature undoubtedly was referring to physical locations rather than to virtual public places such as the internet. When Wisconsin statutes use the term “public place,” they do so to connote a physical location. See, e.g., Wis. Stat. § 103.21(6). The annotation “[w]hat is ‘public place’ within requirements as to posting of notices,” 90 A.L.R.2d 1210 (1963) also contains only cases involving the posting of notices in physical locations. In Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority v. Miller, 128 P.3d 588, 595 (Wash. 2006), the court noted that “[t]here is very little case law on the subject of the sufficiency of web posting for notice requirements.” Miller, 128 P.3d at 594, did uphold web posting under a statute requiring notice that “may include, but not be limited to, written notification to the city’s official newspaper, publication of a notice in the official newspaper, posting of upcoming council meeting agendas, or such other processes as the city determines will satisfy the intent of this requirement.” (Emphasis by the court.) Miller did not hold that placing a legal notice on a municipal web site constitutes posting the notice in a public place. A dissenting justice specifically stated that “[w]hen the term ‘posting’ is used in notice statutes, it always refers to posting of notice in a physical public place or affected area (e.g. on the property itself), but does not refer to posting on a website.” Miller, 128 P.3d at 604 (J.M. Johnson, J., dissenting).
While placing a legal notice on a county’s web site is certainly a desirable practice and may in certain circumstances reach more members of the public than would placing the notice in a physical location, Wis. Stat. § 985.02(2)(a) contemplates posting of legal notices in three physical locations. Placing a legal notice on the internet therefore does not constitute posting in a public place under Wis. Stat. § 985.02(2). I therefore conclude that (1) A county with a population of under 250,000 is not required to designate an official newspaper; (2) Such a county is not statutorily required to seek bids for the publication of legal notices; (3) Even if such a county does not competitively bid the publication of its own proceedings as provided in Wis. Stat. § 59.14(3), it may print its own proceedings or post them on its web site; (4) the placement of a legal notice on a county’s web site is not newspaper publication under Wis. Stat. § 985.05(1), is not an “other form of publication” under Wis. Stat. § 985.05(1), and is not posting in a public place under Wis. Stat. § 985.02(2). Sincerely,
J.B. Van Hollen
Attorney General
JBVH:FTC:cla
CAPTION: A county with a population of under 250,000 is not required to designate an official newspaper and is not statutorily required to seek bids for the publication of legal notices. Even if such a county does not competitively bid the publication of its own proceedings as provided in Wis. Stat. § 59.14(3), it may print its own proceedings or post them on its web site. The placement of a legal notice on a county’s web site is not newspaper publication under Wis. Stat. § 985.05(1), is not an “other form of publication” under Wis. Stat. § 985.05(1), and is not posting in a public place under Wis. Stat. § 985.02(2).
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