The Hoosier State Press Association (HSPA) thought it had a year to design the future of public notice. That turned out not to be the case.

The latest encroachment on HSPA’s turf came from the Indiana Supreme Court, which recently proposed amending the state’s rules of trial procedure to allow court notices to be posted on something called the Indiana Court Legal Notice Website in lieu of newspaper publication. According to HSPA Executive Director Steve Key, the rule would encompass notices mandated in connection with foreclosure sales, estate administration, lawsuit summons and name changes. Key said his understanding is the website notices would be free of charge to the individuals required to publish them.

Chief Justice Loretta Rush (pictured below right) first raised the issue during a hearing of the Supreme Court Records Access Committee a couple of years ago. Key said the chief justice discussed the price of newspaper notice and mentioned that courts in Alaska have transitioned to electronic notice. (In January 2020, Connecticut courts also moved the publication of their notices to a judicial branch website.) Nevertheless, the committee didn’t recommend any changes.

The issue was eventually referred to the Supreme Court’s closed Rules Committee, which endorsed the conversion to electronic notice without hearing from stakeholders or experts. “Their wisdom was moving notices to a website was a good idea,” Key told us.

The Court solicited comments on its proposal but hasn’t announced when it will make a final decision. “They don’t do things like that,” said Key. “They’ll decide when they decide.”

It’s the second time this year Indiana authorities have taken steps to change the state’s public notice laws despite a pledge HSPA made last year to the Speaker of the House and Senate President Pro Temp to deliver a proposal to modernize the laws after the 2021 session. In fact, the Indiana legislature approved two changes this session. One bill authorized local governments and sheriffs to post on their websites all but the first notice required by statutes mandating multiple publications in a newspaper. The other allowed the attorney general to reduce newspaper notice of unclaimed property sales that aren’t conducted on the internet from two publications to one.

On Friday, HSPA will hold its second Public Notice Summit in three years to allow members to kick the tires on the HSPA proposal. According to the HSPA website, the proposal will address complaints about the cost of newspaper notice and establish criteria for when a county may consider moving from print to digital notice, while maintaining accessibility, verifiability, archivability and independence — the four essential elements of effective public notice.

“We hope to end the yearly legislative battle over public notice requirements with our progressive proposal,” said Key, who recently announced he plans to retire after the 2022 session.

“The future of public notices and their connection to local newspapers has not been this tenuous in the 28 years that I’ve had the honor of working at HSPA,” he wrote last week on the HSPA website.