Official journal and auxiliary official journal.
New Orleans City Code § 2-6
in effectSec. 2-6. - Official journal and auxiliary official journal.
(a) Official journal. There shall be only one official journal selected annually. The official journal of New Orleans shall be a newspaper or general news publication or a joint venture consisting of no more than two members, each of which must be a newspaper or general news publication. The official journal, including each constituent member of a joint venture, must meet the following requirements or qualify according to subsection (b) below:
(1) Maintain a general circulation within the city of not less than 10,000 per issue for at least one year prior to the time the official journal contract is awarded;
(2) Have periodicals or bulk class mailing permit at the United States Post Office located within the city;
(3) Be domiciled in the city;
(4) Have been published at regular intervals of not less than weekly for at least two years prior to the time it is awarded the official journal contract;
(5) Have not failed to publish during that two-year period three or more consecutive issues unless such failure was caused by fire, flood, strike or natural disaster; and
(6) Be capable of advertising official proceedings and official information according to the publication schedule and format required by the applicable provisions of the Home Rule Charter, the City Code, the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, Civil Service Rules, Chief Administrative Office Policy Memoranda, Louisiana Revised Statutes, and the Louisiana Constitution.
For the purposes of meeting the minimum general circulation requirement, a joint venture may not aggregate the circulation of its constituent members. For the purposes of this section, a "general news publication" shall mean a printed publication containing news and information of general interest to the community provided:
(1) The publication contains not more than 75 percent advertising in over half the issues during the preceding 12 months;
(2) The publication is not owned or published as an auxiliary to another nonpublishing business;
(3) The publication's news and information are not primarily about advertisers; and
(4) The publication is published for the dissemination of current news and intelligence of varied, broad, and general public interest, and is not devoted to or targeted at the interests of, or published for the entertainment or instruction of, or has a circulation primarily targeted to, any particular sect, denomination, labor, or fraternal organization or other limited or narrowly definable class of citizens.
(b) Notwithstanding the above requirements, any newspaper or general news publication that is deemed qualified under state law to publish judicial advertisements and legal notices in Orleans Parish on January 1, 2018, shall also be deemed qualified under this section to serve as the official journal of New Orleans, but only if said newspaper or general news publication is capable of advertising official proceedings and official information according to the publication schedule and format required by the applicable provisions of the Home Rule Charter, the City Code, the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, Civil Service Rules, Chief Administrative Office Policy Memoranda, Louisiana Revised Statutes, and the Louisiana Constitution.
(c) Annual contract. The clerk of council shall annually offer a contract for the publication of the official journal to be awarded to the lowest competitive bidder meeting the specifications contained in the bid documents. The official journal contract shall require that the entity awarded the contract must also accept for publication, at not more than the rates established by the contract for the official journal, the official publications of the various offices, departments and boards of the city. Each bidder shall file a notarized, sworn affidavit with the clerk of council disclosing all owners, investors, stockholders, trustees, partners, assignees, or members of the entity that owns or controls the bidder, and any parties holding options to acquire any interest in the bidder. The affidavit shall be submitted with the bid, and shall also disclose the names of any other parties that effectively control or exercise a controlling interest in any portion of the bidder. Language shall be included in the official journal contract requiring that the clerk of council be immediately notified by certified mail of any change in ownership or control of the official journal. Any such change in ownership or control may, at the option of the city, permit termination of the contract upon providing 30 days' notice, and shall allow the clerk of council to offer a new annual contract for publication of the official journal, as provided herein. If the clerk is not so notified of any such change within 30 days of the effective date of such change, the contract may be terminated by the city. If the official journal fails to provide a minimum general circulation within the city of 10,000, fails to maintain a periodicals or bulk class mailing permit at the United States Post Office located within the city, or fails to publish an issue on schedule containing requested official journal business, which failure is not caused by fire, flood, strike or natural disaster, the contract may be terminated by the city. Further, failure to publish three consecutive issues on schedule containing requested official journal business shall permit termination of the contract by the city. The successful bidder must agree in the official journal contract to indemnify and hold the City of New Orleans harmless from and against any and all claims, harms, and costs, including but not limited to attorney's fees, arising out of or in connection with the official journal contract and the performance of the duties of the official journal as contained in the official journal contract, including but not limited to the failure by the official journal to publish matters as directed and/or in accordance with applicable provisions of the Home Rule Charter, the City Code, the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, Civil Service Rules, Chief Administrative Office Policy Memoranda, Louisiana Revised Statutes, and the Louisiana Constitution.
(d) Auxiliary official journal. In addition to the official journal, designated pursuant to the requirements aforesaid, the council, by resolution, may select an auxiliary official journal and authorize therein the additional publication of official publications, including but not limited to advertisements, public notices, official proceedings, and official information at rates not exceeding the rates for publication in the official journal.
(e) Additional publications. So long as the requirements imposed hereinabove are met, the publication of advertisements, public notices, official proceedings, and official information by additional means is allowed and may be accomplished as circumstances dictate and permit.
(f) Clerk of council. The clerk of council shall monitor all aspects of publication of the official journal and the auxiliary official journal.
(Code 1956, § 2-10; M.C.S., Ord. No. 18,337, § 1, 7-17-97; M.C.S., Ord. No. 19,082, § 1, 1-21-99; M.C.S., Ord. No. 27704, § 1, 3-8-18)
Source: City of New Orleans, Code of Ordinances and Home Rule Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/la/new_orleans/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICO_CH2AD_ARTIINGE_S2-6OFJOAUOFJOFetched: 10/28/2026