Public Notices belong in newspapers

This Wednesday, March 25, 2009, the Senate Local Government Committee is set to consider SB419, which would remove public notice advertising from newspapers and allow government agencies to put notices on government websites. Here is why we believe that is a terrible idea.

Consider the following:

· The bill would undermine transparency in government. Under current law, public notices are required for many projects undertaken by both private and public entities. The public notice process is critical, as it informs members of the public what is happening in their community, gives notice of actions that government representatives are considering, and allows citizens to participate. Newspapers provide an independent, third-party verification that notices were published in accordance with the law. Allowing government agencies to control and post Internet notices would eliminate this independent verification and would expand government in a costly and inefficient manner. Government-controlled notice programs simply wouldn’t accomplish the same thing as printed newspaper notices. They are not independent of the political forces that run them. They are not easily archivable or verifiable. Interested parties use newspaper publication and affidavits to participate in government and to verify that proper notice was (or was not) published. SB419 would create instability and confusion, and would interfere with this public participation.

· Costs of public notice advertising are relatively small. Local government associations maintain that the cost of public notices is an unaffordable, unfunded mandate. In fact, a PNA search of public records, carried out last year and again in January, reveals that those expenditures actually comprise less than half of one-percent of their operating expenditures, regardless of the size of the municipality.

· The Internet cannot replace printed notices, due to unpredictability, impermanence, and a lack of access for many. Internet websites are vulnerable to manipulation, loss of content and technological change. They cannot easily provide a reliable, enduring record. U.S. Census Bureau studies showed that in 2007, 30% of Pennsylvania residents lacked internet access. That figure was even higher for the elderly, for low-income residents, and for those with less education: these are the people who would be disenfranchised by internet “advertising.” Similarly, the Census Bureau indicated that 40% of the residents in Pennsylvania’s major urban centers lack internet access.

· Placing a notice on a government-run website is tantamount to shielding it from public view, as web traffic to local government websites is very low. Web traffic calculator websites confirm that the number of persons viewing newspaper websites dwarfs many municipal websites by at least ten times.

· There would be significant costs to establish and run the proposed Internet-based program. Ramping up agency websites would cost tens of thousands, or more, in development, maintenance, and security, far beyond the current amounts paid. The costs would dwarf the figures agencies now report as internet expenditures. Furthermore, an effort to build robust, searchable websites to provide web-based notice would result in significant new expenditures, which state government would likely be asked to fund.

· Finally, newspapers are already publishing Internet notices. Pennsylvania newspapers have been uploading public notices onto the Internet, at www.MyPublicNotices.com, since 1999.

Are newspapers a business? Yes. Do they receive money for publishing public notices? Of course. But the benefit of having an independent, community-based repository of meeting notices, zoning changes, and lists of unclaimed property (among others) cannot be ignored. Newspapers, more than perhaps any other business, serve the public interest by informing the public about government activities and spending. They accomplish this by pushing for greater access to government, fighting for public records, covering local meetings and court proceedings, and by publishing public notices in their pages. Public notices belong in newspapers.