§ 148. Distribution and fees. 1. a. The department of state shall mail or otherwise deliver a copy of each issue of the state register to the office of the clerk of every county, to every library designated by the commissioner of education, and upon written request, to the office of the clerk of any city, town or village. Such copies shall be made available for public inspection by such offices and libraries for not less than one year.

b. On or before September first, nineteen hundred eighty-three, and annually thereafter, the commissioner of education shall designate a sufficient number of libraries, not to exceed three hundred, to provide a uniform, statewide distribution of copies of each issue of the state register, and shall provide the department of state with a list of such designated libraries.

2. The department of state shall mail or otherwise deliver a copy of each regular issue and the quarterly index required by subdivision three of section one hundred forty-seven of this article to each agency and every state legislator, unless the agency or state legislator has requested that the department discontinue such delivery, and shall provide notice and indicate the availability upon request of any special issue published pursuant to subdivision two of section one hundred forty-seven of this article by placing said notice in the regular issue appearing two weeks prior to the publication date of any such special issue. Such special issues shall be available to each agency and state legislator at no charge.

3. Subscriptions to the state register shall be made available to the public by either first or second class mail, or in electronic form at the election of the subscriber. A reasonable rate for a subscription to printed copies of the regular issue and quarterly index required by subdivision three of section one hundred forty-seven of this article, to be not more than eighty dollars per year for first class mail delivery and not more than forty dollars per year for second class mail delivery, shall be set by the secretary of state. The secretary of state may charge no more than one dollar and fifty cents per single copy of a printed regular issue or quarterly index of the state register. Rates shall not be set at such a level that the anticipated total subscription revenues exceed the total cost of producing, printing and distributing the state register.

4. Special issues published pursuant to subdivision two of section one hundred forty-seven of this article shall be made available to the public at prices set by the secretary of state to reflect the cost of producing, printing and distributing the special issues. The notice provided in subdivision two of this section shall indicate the prices of the special issues.

4-a. In addition to the state register, the department of state shall make available at no cost an online version of the weekly state register, quarterly index and any special issues as directed by statute or deemed appropriate by the secretary of state.

5. The secretary of state shall be entitled to charge and receive a reasonable sum from any person required by state statute to cause a notice to be published in the state register.

6. All fees set by the secretary of state pursuant to this section are subject to the approval of the director of the budget.