§205. Costs of legal advertisements; penalty for accepting rebate

A. In all parishes, the cost of all advertisements in relation to judicial proceedings, or in the sale of property under judicial process, or in any other legal proceedings of any kind, shall be a maximum of ninety percent of the commercial display advertising rate charged by the newspaper for a similar volume of business. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the cost of advertisements charged to a state agency when said publication is required by law in all parishes which do not contain a city of over one hundred thousand population shall not exceed the rate of five dollars per square of one hundred words or a fraction thereof. When the insertion contains material to be set in tabular form, the tabulated matter shall be computed on the basis of the number of words of straight matter which would occupy identical space.

B. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the agate line shall be the unit or basis of measurement and charges for all advertisements placed by a state agency when said publication is required by law, including bidding advertisements in all parishes containing a city of more than one hundred thousand but less than three hundred thousand population. The printing shall not be let at over twenty-eight cents per agate line for each insertion.

C. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the agate line shall be the unit or basis of measurement and charges for all advertisements placed by a state agency when said publication is required by law, including bidding advertisements in all parishes containing a city of over three hundred thousand population. The printing shall not be let at a charge of over thirty-one cents per agate line for each insertion.

D. If the newspaper refuses to publish at the rate herein specified, the advertisements shall be published in the manner provided for in cases where there are no newspapers.

E. It is unlawful for any sheriff, tax collector, clerk of court, or any other public official, or any auctioneer, administrator, executor, tutor, trustee or other legal representative of any party in any judicial proceeding or other legal proceeding to demand or accept any part of the charge for the printing or publishing in the form of a rebate or otherwise from any newspaper or publisher of a newspaper.

F. Whoever is found guilty of accepting any rebate or any other form of payment shall be fined not less than two hundred and fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars or shall be imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than six months, or both.

Amended by Acts 1962, No. 138, §1; Acts 1972, No. 89, §1; Acts 1976, No. 485, §1; Acts 1980, No. 350, §1, eff. June 1, 1981; Acts 1991, No. 989, §1.