GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1987 SESSION
CHAPTER 425
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. G.S. 1-597 reads as rewritten:
"§ 1-597. Regulations for newspaper
publication of legal notices, advertisements, etc.-Whenever a notice of any other paper, document or legal advertisement of
any kind or description shall be authorized or required by any of the laws of
the State of North Carolina, heretofore or hereafter enacted, or by any order
or judgment of any court of this State to be published or advertised in a
newspaper, such publication, advertisement or notice shall be of no force and
effect unless it shall be published in a newspaper with a general circulation to
actual paid subscribers which newspaper at the time of such publication,
advertisement or notice, shall have been admitted to the United States mails as
second-class matter in the county or political subdivision where such
publication, advertisement or notice is required to be published, and which
shall have been regularly and continuously issued in the county in which the publication,
advertisement or notice is authorized or required to be published, at least one
day in each calendar week for at least 25 of the 26 consecutive weeks
immediately preceding the date of the first publication of such advertisement,
publication or notice; provided that in the event that a newspaper otherwise
meeting the qualifications and having the characteristics prescribed by G.S.
1-597 to 1-599, should fail for a period not exceeding four weeks in any
calendar year to publish one or more of its issues such newspaper shall
nevertheless be deemed to have complied with the requirements of regularity and
continuity of publication prescribed herein. Provided further, that in
the event the newspaper otherwise meeting the qualifications and having the
characteristics prescribed by G.S. 1-597 to 1-599, is admitted to the United
States mails as third class matter rather than second class matter, the
newspaper shall qualify if it maintains a known office in the county or
political subdivision where such publication, advertisement or notice is
required to be published, is originated and published for the purpose of
disseminating information of a public character, is not primarily designed for
advertising purposes, does not contain more than seventy-five percent (75%)
advertising in more than one-fourth of the issues published during the
preceding six-month period. Provided further, that where any city or
town is located in two or more adjoining counties, any newspaper published in
such city or town shall, for the purposes of G.S. 1-597 to 1-599, be deemed to
be admitted to the mails, issued and published in all such counties in which
such town or city of publication is located, and every publication,
advertisement or notice required to be published in any such city or town or in
any of the counties where such city or town is located shall be valid if
published in a newspaper published, issued and admitted to the mails anywhere
within any such city or town, regardless of whether the newspaper's plant or
known office or the post office where the newspaper is admitted to the
mails is in such county or not, if the newspaper otherwise meets the
qualifications and requirements of G.S. 1-597 to 1-599. This provision shall be
retroactive to May 1, 1940, and all publications, advertisements and notices
published in accordance with this provision since May 1, 1940, are hereby
validated.
Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 1-599, whenever a notice or any other paper, document or legal advertisement of any kind or description shall be authorized or required by any of the laws of the State of North Carolina, heretofore or hereafter enacted, or by any order or judgment of any court of this State to be published or advertised in a newspaper qualified for legal advertising in a county and there is no newspaper qualified for legal advertising as defined in this section in such county, then it shall be deemed sufficient compliance with such laws, order or judgment by publication of such notice or any other such paper, document or legal advertisement of any kind or description in a newspaper published in an adjoining county or in a county within the same judicial district; provided, if the clerk of the superior court finds as a fact that such newspaper otherwise meets the requirements of this section and has a general circulation in such county where no newspaper is published meeting the requirements of this section."
Sec. 2. This act applies to the Towns of Mint Hill and Matthews only and only applies to notices or legal advertisements of those towns.
Sec. 3. This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 19th day of June, 1987.