985.03 Qualifications of newspapers.

(1)

(a) Except as provided in par. (am), no publisher of any newspaper in this state shall be awarded or be entitled to any compensation or fee for the publishing of any legal notice unless the newspaper has had a bona fide paid circulation and one of the following applies:

1m. For at least 2 of the 5 years immediately before the date of the publication of the notice, the newspaper has been published regularly and continuously in the city, village, or town where published.

2m. The newspaper is a successor to a newspaper described in subd. 1m. and the successor newspaper has resumed publication following succession within 30 days.

3. The newspaper has merged or consolidated with one or more newspapers and one of the newspapers subject to the consolidation or merger has been continuously published at regular intervals of at least once each week for at least 50 issues each year for at least one year prior to the first publication of the notice.

(am) If there is not a newspaper in a city, village, or town that satisfies the requirements under par. (a), the publisher of a newspaper that satisfies all of the following may be awarded or be entitled to compensation or a fee for the publishing of a legal notice:

1. The newspaper is published regularly and continuously in the city, village, or town and publishing in the newspaper is likely to give notice in the area or to the affected person.

2. The newspaper is otherwise qualified under this section.

(b) Suspension of publication resulting from the mobilization of troops being called to active duty with the armed forces, strike, lockout or damage, or destruction due to war, fire or act of God, shall not count as an interval in publication.

(bm) A period of disqualification not to exceed 2 years due only to the place of publication shall not count as an interval in publication.

(cm) A newspaper in order to be eligible under this section shall also file a certificate with the county clerk stating that it qualifies under this section and stating its place of publication.

(2) Any person charged with the duty of causing legal notices to be published, and who causes any legal notice to be published in any newspaper not eligible to so publish under the requirements of sub. (1), or who fails to cause such legal notice to be published in any newspaper eligible under this section, may be fined not to exceed $100 for each offense. Each day in which a legal notice should have been but was not published as required by law shall constitute a separate offense hereunder.

History: 1975 c. 341; 1989 a. 31; 2011 a. 228; 2017 a. 207 s. 5; 2017 a. 282.

This section does not violate equal protection. The term “paid circulation," as a requirement under sub. (1) (a), is discussed. Community Newspapers v. West Allis, 156 Wis. 2d 350, 456 N.W.2d 646 (Ct. App. 1990).

A municipality may not expend funds to publish legal notice in a “shopper" that does not meet the qualifications in s. 985.03 (1) (a). 71 Atty. Gen. 177.