As the new year dawned and state legislatures reconvened in January, two press associations in the Midwest found themselves in an existential battle to save newspaper notice in their states. The Missouri Press Association (MPA) and the Hoosier State Press Association (HSPA) are fighting several bills with serious prospects for passage that would move government and foreclosure notices to the web.
Missouri is used to it. Their foreclosure bill (SB 250/HB 686) is identical to legislation that was voted out of committees in both the House and Senate last year before stalling. It would move foreclosure notices from newspapers to ill-defined “internet website(s)” that would almost certainly be operated by trustees angling to profit from the notices they are required to publish before auctioning delinquent properties. Two of the largest trustee law firms in Missouri have been the primary proponents of the legislation.
A separate bill in Missouri that would move all government notice to official websites is also similar to legislation introduced in 2018. SB 268 would require every public body to post notices “on the front page of its website, if it has one.” It also establishes a “Legal Notices Website” to be operated by the Secretary of State, who would publish notices for government units that don’t have websites.
Perversely, MPA’s effort to stop these bills will be complicated by a clause in the Missouri Constitution requiring the full text of all statewide ballot measures to be published in newspapers throughout the state. That provision created a political backlash after the state spent almost $6 million on notices last year due to the unusual volume and complexity of issues placed on the ballot for November’s election. According to MPA, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) used the anomaly to bash newspapers during his budget testimony last week before the House Appropriations Committee.
“If we don’t fix the problem,” Secretary Ashcroft testified, “I’ll be back next year asking for $6 million or $7 million. Some newspapers jacked up their rates. I hope you can do something about that.”
HSPA is also battling a foreclosure bill, but unlike Missouri’s it’s moving quickly. HB 1212, which would move foreclosure notices from newspapers to county or sheriffs’ websites, flew through committee two weeks ago and then quickly passed the House by a 62-34 vote.
According to a column written by HSPA Executive Director and General Counsel Steve Key, the “best argument” put forth by sponsor Rep. Wendy McNamara (R-Evansville) “is evidence that a few newspapers may be charging an unreasonable price for the required publications,” an allegation HSPA was later able to confirm. Key also noted that McNamara testified, “that her ultimate goal is to eliminate all publication of public notices in newspapers. … She calls the notices a subsidy for newspapers.”
Indiana also faces a bill that would move all government notice to state and local government websites. Identical legislation introduced last year never made it out of committee. Bills that would move public notice from newspapers to government websites have also been introduced in Connecticut and Maryland. A bill in New York would allow government notice to be posted on “online news publications.”
A bill in Wyoming that would have created a state website for public notices was killed in committee on a 6-3 vote on Thursday. HB 242 “was basically an attempt to set up a state-run news service,” new Wyoming Press Association Executive Director Darcie Hoffland told PNRC. Hoffland had a good week. Another bad public notice bill — which would have moved most notices to city and county websites — was killed in committee last Monday. “These were significant victories for us,” Hoffland said.
Another new state press association leader who had a good week was Jill Farschman, CEO of Colorado Press Association. A bill that would have allowed counties in the state to publish various financial reports on their own websites was killed on Tuesday in a 7-3 committee vote.
Bills that would revise eligibility requirements for official newspapers have been introduced in Virginia and Maine. Virginia SB 1638 “is designed to clarify newspapers of record and give local governments some flexibility when selecting newspapers for publishing their public notices,” said Betsy Edwards, executive director of the Virginia Press Association, which supports the measure. It passed the Senate last week by a vote of 40-0. Maine LD 481 would eliminate the requirement that newspapers eligible to publish notices must have a periodical permit issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
In North Dakota, a bill requiring official newspapers to post notices on their websites and on the North Dakota Newspaper Association statewide public notice site passed the House two weeks ago by an 89-1 vote.