§147.1. Compensation for printing; per character

            A. The parish and municipal governing authorities and school boards of this state may have their official proceedings and public notices published by contract, compensation for which shall not exceed the amounts provided by this Section unless agreed to by both parties in writing. Payment may be made monthly or quarterly at the option of the governing authority or school board.

            B.(1) In all parishes that do not contain a city with a population of more than one hundred thousand, the cost of publishing official proceedings and public notices shall not exceed the rate of one and one-half cents per character. When the insertion contains material to be set in tabular form or is submitted prebuilt, the rate will be computed at two dollars seventy-six cents per square inch based on six-point type and six-point font. If the notice is set in larger type or font, the rate shall be prorated. Regardless of the size of type the notice is set in, the rates specified in this Paragraph are based on a printable space of one-inch-high and one-inch-wide column. If the page width is either wider or narrower for a single column, the rate per column shall be prorated.

            (2) In all parishes that contain a city with a population of more than one hundred thousand, the cost of publishing official proceedings and public notices shall not exceed the rate of two cents per character. When the insertion contains material to be set in tabular form or is submitted prebuilt, the rate will be computed at three dollars ninety-six cents per square inch based on six-point type and six-point font. If the notice is set in larger type or font, the rate shall be prorated. Regardless of the size of type the notice is set in, the rates specified in this Paragraph are based on a printable space of one-inch-high and one-inch-wide column. If the page width is either wider or narrower for a single column, the rate per column shall be prorated.

            (3) For purposes of this Subsection, "character" means an alphanumeric character and any punctuation or other character, all of which have been requested by the public body, and shall not include letting, kerning, or spacing unless additional letting, kerning, or spacing is ordered by the public body at a cost agreed to in writing.

            C. The charge for publication of official proceedings and public notices on the website of either the official journal or a public notice website in which official journals participate shall be subsumed within the applicable publication rate.

            Acts 2023, No. 178, §1.