State, county, and municipal governments could realize signifiant savings if legal advertisements were statutorily allowed to be placed on the internet.

PERD conducted this follow-up review of its September 2007 report on the study of statutory legal advertisements. One objective of this study was to follow-up on PERD’s September 2007 report related to statutorily required legal advertisements and the costs incurred as a result of them to state agencies, county government agencies, county boards of education, public institutions of higher education, and the 10 most populous municipalities. An additional objective included determining the estimated costs for developing and maintaining a government website with a centralized repository where legal advertisements for all governmental entities could be placed. After surveying 22 state agencies and subdivisions, all 55 county governments, subdivisions, and county boards of education, all 19 public institutions of higher education, and the 10 most populous municipalities, the Legislative Auditor determined that these entities combined paid more than $4.6 million in FY 2019 to publish statutorily required legal advertisements in qualified newspapers.