(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a newspaper is a “newspaper of general circulation” if it meets all of the following criteria:

(1) It is a newspaper published for the dissemination of local or telegraphic news and intelligence of a general character, which has a bona fide subscription list of paying subscribers and has been established and published at regular intervals of not less than weekly in the city, district, or public notice district for which it is seeking adjudication for at least three years preceding the date of adjudication.

(2) It has a substantial distribution to paid subscribers in the city, district, or public notice district in which it is seeking adjudication.

(3) It has maintained a minimum coverage of local or telegraphic news and intelligence of a general character of not less than 25 percent of its total inches during each year of the three-year period.

(4) It has only one principal office of publication and that office is in the city, district, or public notice district for which it is seeking adjudication.

(b) For the purposes of Section 6020, a newspaper meeting the criteria of this section which desires to have its standing as a newspaper of general circulation ascertained and established, may, by its publisher, manager, editor, or attorney, file a verified petition in the superior court of the county in which it is established and published.

(c) As used in this section:

(1) “Established” means in existence under a specified name during the whole of the three-year period, except that a modification of name in accordance with Section 6024, where the modification of name does not substantially change the identity of the newspaper, shall not affect the status of the newspaper for the purposes of this definition.

(2) “Published” means issued from the place where the newspaper is sold to or circulated among the people and its subscribers during the whole of the three-year period.

(3) “Public notice district” means a public notice district described in Chapter 1.1 (commencing with Section 6080).

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 703, Sec. 12. (AB 2881) Effective January 1, 2017.)