Skip to content
Breadcrumbs

eXpendit

Note: To navigate this guide on a mobile device you must use the Table of Contents.

Miscellaneous Expenditures — Communications
Notices Published in Newspapers

General Requirements

The below requirements apply only to the publication of a notice in a newspaper by a governmental entity that general or specific law does not specify requirements, such as number of times the notice is required to be published and the duration of the publication. The notice must be published in at least one issue of a newspaper.

The newspaper in which a notice is published must:

  • Devote not less than 25 percent of its total column lineage to general interest items,
  • Be published at least once each week,
  • Be entered as second-class postal matter in the county where published, and
  • Have been published regularly and continuously for at least 12 months before the governmental entity or representative publishes notice.

A weekly newspaper is deemed to have been published regularly and continuously if the newspaper omits not more than two issues in the 12-month period.

A notice must be published in a newspaper issued at least one day before the occurrence of the event to which the notice refers.

A newspaper that publishes a notice must submit a bill for the publication with a clipping of the published notice and a verified statement of the publisher that:

  • States the rate charged,
  • Certifies the rate charged is the newspaper’s lowest published rate for classified advertising, and
  • Certifies the number and dates of the publication.

The Statewide Procurement Division (SPD) of the Comptroller’s office may cancel a contract it executed for the publication of a notice if it determines the newspaper charges a rate higher than the legal rate.

The governmental entity or representative required to publish a notice in a newspaper must select, in accordance with the requirements described above, one or more newspapers to publish the notice.

Sources [+]

Texas Government Code Section 2051.042–2051.045, 2051.049–2051.052.

Definitions

Governmental entity
An institution, board, commission or department of the state or a subdivision of the state.
Governmental representative
Includes an officer, employee or agent of a governmental entity.
Notice
Any matter, including a proclamation or advertisement, required or authorized by law to be published in a newspaper by a governmental entity or representative.

Source for definitions [+]

Texas Government Code Section 2051.041.

Documentation Requirements [+]

  1. A state agency must retain documentation in its files showing the type of services performed and how the agency’s award of a contract for those services complied with the Professional Services Procurement Act.
  2. A state agency must retain documentation in its files of the clipping (copy of the notice), and the certification from the publisher the above requirements have been met.