The beginning of July means the end of legislative sessions in many states, and in some the end of the latest round of newspapers' battle to preserve public-notice advertising by governments, which has become a larger share of papers' revenue as their tradition advertising base shrinks. Richard Karpel of the Public Notice Resource Center has a report on action in four states:
Texas Press Association Executive
Vice President Donnis Baggett described the Lone Star State's session as “hellacious,” but Karpel writes, "Aside from some end-of-sessions shenanigans that saw the passage
of a bill that eliminated a few minor notices, newspapers in the Lone
Star State have much to celebrate. . .. They were the major force behind a series of bills
that will reverse recent state court rulings that diminished government
transparency. Like many other states, they also had a pretty good year
on the public notice front," defeating bills "that would have moved all official notice in the state to
other venues" and "a number of other bills that would have
eliminated narrow categories of newspaper notice."
Still, TPA worries. “It feels like there’s a thin sheet of ice over the lake we’re walking on,” Baggett told Karpel, surely recalling the battle over "a high-profile property tax reform measure that served as a late-session vehicle to eliminate a few notices," by way of a conference committee. “The fact they would take such extraordinary measures to eliminate a couple of minor notices worries me,” Baggett said. “It suggests the move was orchestrated with the approval of legislative leadership.”
Nebraska Press Association Executive Director Allen Beerman worries less. “People here
are beginning to realize if newspapers go away, there’s nobody left to
chronicle the news,” said Beerman, who will retire at 80 in January, after 25 years in the job -- preceded by 24 years as Nebraska's elected secretary of state.
Karpel reports, "The only Nebraska bill signed by the governor that reduced newspaper notice was LB 103, which authorizes political subdivisions with annual budgets under $10,000 or biennial budgets under $20,000 to post notice of hearings on property-tax resolutions or ordinances at their principal headquarters instead of a newspaper. In other words, a bill that nobody in their right mind would oppose."
Indiana legislators turned a bill that would have eliminated the requirement that school districts publish their annual financial reports in local newspapers into a study of how schools can streamline fiscal and compliance reporting, Karpel writes. "The Hoosier State Press Association also helped to defeat other bills that would have moved government and foreclosure notices out of newspapers. We covered those battles here and here."
Nevada Assembly Bill 270 "requires regional transportation commissions to publish newspaper notice to advertise the sale of property acquired through eminent domain that is no longer needed for public use," Karpel reports. "AB 79 requires county treasurers to publish newspaper and government website notice before determining that tax-delinquent property has been abandoned. It also allows them to publish notice in a newspaper (“at least once a week for four consecutive weeks”) to advertise the sale of such property as an option in lieu of the physical posting of the notice in at least 'three public places in the county.' AB 345 eliminated publication of summaries of statewide referendums but required notice of poll locations where people can by personal appearance and photo identification is not required). "Election officials are also still required to publish newspaper notice of election dates, and the location and hours of polling places, but under AB 345 they will no longer include the names of candidates and the offices they are seeking," Karpel reports.
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| Donnis Baggett |
Still, TPA worries. “It feels like there’s a thin sheet of ice over the lake we’re walking on,” Baggett told Karpel, surely recalling the battle over "a high-profile property tax reform measure that served as a late-session vehicle to eliminate a few notices," by way of a conference committee. “The fact they would take such extraordinary measures to eliminate a couple of minor notices worries me,” Baggett said. “It suggests the move was orchestrated with the approval of legislative leadership.”
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| Allen Beermann |
Karpel reports, "The only Nebraska bill signed by the governor that reduced newspaper notice was LB 103, which authorizes political subdivisions with annual budgets under $10,000 or biennial budgets under $20,000 to post notice of hearings on property-tax resolutions or ordinances at their principal headquarters instead of a newspaper. In other words, a bill that nobody in their right mind would oppose."
Indiana legislators turned a bill that would have eliminated the requirement that school districts publish their annual financial reports in local newspapers into a study of how schools can streamline fiscal and compliance reporting, Karpel writes. "The Hoosier State Press Association also helped to defeat other bills that would have moved government and foreclosure notices out of newspapers. We covered those battles here and here."
Nevada Assembly Bill 270 "requires regional transportation commissions to publish newspaper notice to advertise the sale of property acquired through eminent domain that is no longer needed for public use," Karpel reports. "AB 79 requires county treasurers to publish newspaper and government website notice before determining that tax-delinquent property has been abandoned. It also allows them to publish notice in a newspaper (“at least once a week for four consecutive weeks”) to advertise the sale of such property as an option in lieu of the physical posting of the notice in at least 'three public places in the county.' AB 345 eliminated publication of summaries of statewide referendums but required notice of poll locations where people can by personal appearance and photo identification is not required). "Election officials are also still required to publish newspaper notice of election dates, and the location and hours of polling places, but under AB 345 they will no longer include the names of candidates and the offices they are seeking," Karpel reports.
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