HB 5289 Connecticut House · 2026 Regular Session

AN ACT CONCERNING THE PUBLICATION OF MUNICIPAL LEGAL NOTICES.

HB 5289 changes how municipalities must publish legal notices currently required by law. It replaces the requirement for daily newspaper publication with an option to use weekly newspapers, while mandating that all notices must also be published on the municipality’s official website. Municipalities must retain a physical copy of each online notice for one year. This affects all towns, cities, and boroughs (municipalities) that require legal notice publication in newspapers under existing statutes, ordinances, or charters. The bill does not change the required notice timing or the rule for selecting newspapers based on local circulation.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 19, 2026 Last action Apr 23, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Raised Bill → PD Joint Favorable Substitute · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from a 'Raised Bill' to a 'Substitute Bill' with significant structural and substantive changes to how legal notices are published. The new version expands the definition of 'municipality' to include consolidated towns and cities, adds specific requirements for posting notices on municipal websites in conspicuous locations, and clarifies rules for notices that must be published multiple times.

Scope change

The scope of applicability was expanded by redefining 'municipality' to explicitly include consolidated town and city or consolidated town and borough entities, which were not previously listed.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'municipality' was updated to include 'consolidated town and city or consolidated town and borough' in addition to towns, cities, and boroughs.

REQUIREMENT

New language requires that legal notices posted on a municipal website must be placed in a 'conspicuous location' and must include the date of posting.

A new provision allows municipalities to comply with multiple publication requirements by posting the notice on their website the required number of times at the required intervals.

The requirement to retain a physical copy of notices was updated to specify a minimum retention period of one year following the posting.

A new clause clarifies that if a law requires a notice to be published more than once, a municipality may satisfy this by posting on its website the number of times and at the intervals required by the specific provision.

Floor votes · House Apr 9, 2026

How they voted

96–47

Passed · 7 other

Total votes 150

Apr 9, 2026

D Democratic101

70 Yea 25 Nay 6

69% Yea

R Republican49

26 Yea 22 Nay 1

53% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 23, 2026

Committee

SEN. RECOMMITTED TO PD

upper

Apr 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

HOUSE PASSED, HOUSE AMEND. SCH. A

lower

Apr 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

HOUSE ADOPTED HOUSE AMEND. SCH. A

lower

Mar 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Joint Favorable Substitute

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Planning and Development

lower

23 primary · 0 co-sponsors