Protected: Volume 9, Issue II

Volume 9, Issue II

August 27, 2010

Welcome to the August edition of PNRC’s, of Record. With only nine legislatures still in session, things have quieted down considerably on the public notice front. The legislatures still in session continue to present bills that would remove public notices and place them on state websites.

Proponents of unfavorable public notices legislation are relying on the mantra “cost-saving measure.” And New Jersey and Tennessee dominated the public notice news this month as legislative sessions continue to discuss bills that threaten to reduce notice. See more details below.

As always, please let us know how best we can help!

Prominent Notices

This year, landmark public notice legislation was signed into law in Illinois. We’ve covered the bill from its inception, so now we’re going to dive in a little deeper and explore this remarkable collaboration between the state legislature, Illinois Press Association (IPA) and local newspapers.

On July 21, 2010, Governor Quinn signed HB 5232, the Notice by Publication Act, into law. The law will require all public notices to be published on a statewide site, PublicNoticeIllinois.com, launched by IPA and jointly maintained by statewide newspapers.

“It is imperative that newspapers remain the primary provider of vital government information,” the Illinois Press Association wrote in a press release.

“The journey into an increasingly digital era requires that the newspaper industry demonstrate to lawmakers a willingness to offer online access to public notices. Newspapers must present a united front to promote the future viability and readership of public notices.”

The public’s right to know continues to be attacked. Under the guise of “cost-saving measures”, many state legislatures are proposing the removal of newspaper notices.

Looking at the past legislative year in review:

• More than 50 bills made the public notice requirement for newspaper or a state website, at the discretion of the entity involved.
• More than 55 bills were introduced that only required notice on state, agency or organizational websites (with no publication requirement).
• More than a dozen bills proposed a complete removal of notices currently published in newspapers.

State newspaper associations and local newspapers have met with legislatures and written countless articles defending public notices. The new Illinois law can be a model for how newspapers can protect the public’s right to know by keeping public notices public and off government websites.

See the statewide website section of the new Notice by Publication Act:

Sec. 2.1. Statewide website. Whenever notice by publication in a newspaper is required by law, order of court, or contract, the newspaper publishing the notice shall, at no additional cost to government, place the notice on the statewide website established and maintained as a joint venture of the majority of Illinois newspapers as a repository for such notices.

Perhaps this model, or something similar, could help you in your fight to protect public notices.

On the other end of the spectrum…

Ohio’s HB 220, which would remove legal newspapers from those that publish notices, creates a threat to public notices. HB 220 passed the House on June 2, with of vote of 97 “yeas” and only one “nay”. It is now before the Senate.

The bill is being touted as modernizing the requirements pertaining to the publication of public notices, according to State Representative Jennifer Garrison (D-93rd District), who voted in favor of passing the bill in the House, but the bill is opposed by the legal journals who say the changes will add, not save, costs on government budgets. Garrison considers the current notice requirements to be “outdated” and sees the bill as a cost-saving measure.

The sole Representative who voted against HB 220 was Gerald Stebelton (R-Lancaster). Stebelton offered an amendment that would have allowed publication of foreclosure and sheriff’s sales notices in daily legal journals, but that amendment was not incorporated into the bill that passed the House.

Demographics

A recent Pew study shows that broadband growth has slowed in the last year. And more than half of Americans don’t believe that broadband expansion should be a government priority. One third of all Americans are not using high speed internet at home are not using broadband, a number that decreased only three percent from 2009.

The only demographic group showing a drastic increase was African-Americans whose broadband usage was up ten percent from 46 percent to 56 percent.

“By a 53%-41% margin, Americans say they do not believe that the spread of affordable broadband should be a major government priority,” Pew analysts found.

“Contrary to what some might suspect, non-internet users are less likely than current users to say the government should place a high priority on the spread of high-speed connections. ”

Home Broadband 2010 Pew Study, (8.11.2010)

Articles & Editorials

California

Local residents deserve to have notice of local issues. An unfortunate illustration unfolded in Bell, California. The local paper was bought out. As a result, there was less coverage of local government affairs, coverage that may have brought to light the abusive self-dealing scandal involving top tier administrators.

The article highlighted the importance of local reporting stating that “the Bell spectacle is what happens to communities without their own old-fashioned diligent news coverage by veteran newspaper reporters, or at least smart reporters led by veteran newspaper editors.”

“The result need not be on paper, but it must be done with the community memory and professional savvy almost unique to newspaper-trained journalists with experience watching small-town politics,” the article continued.

Why the bell scandal happened and what can be done, (7.28.2010)

Montana

An attorney for the Montana Newspaper Association (MNA) called out district officials who held a meeting without providing public notice. In a bizarre attempt to comply with the open meeting law, the Ennis school board changed a private meeting to a public one… minutes before it began and without notice.

“If a quorum of the Board was present it was covered by the open meetings law and should have been noticed as such,” Mike Meloy, an attorney who provides information through MNA, wrote in an email.

“They should have renoticed the meeting in the same time the original notice was given.”

School district meeting may have violated open meetings law, (8.10.2010)

New Jersey

In a new twist on government failure to provide public notice, in New Jersey the Nutley Board of Commissioners met with the Lt. Governor in a public meeting. However, the notice for the meeting was not submitted to run in the paper until three days after the meeting occurred.

“While “adequate notice” is required by law, it is unclear if the township specifically was non-compliant in this case,” the editorial noted.

“But surely the intent of the law is not only to let the public know there was meeting but also to give them a chance to attend. Obviously, if the meeting took place before public notification, people would not necessarily know about the event in order to attend.”

To make matters more interesting – or confusing – the notice was written in future tense. There was not even a mention of the meeting on the government website.

Editorial: Commission takes us back in time, (8.19.2010)

Pennsylvania

Despite an evasive – and arguably insufficient – notice, the public showed up at a Pittsburgh’s Historic Review Committee meeting to oppose the demolition of a historic building.

The notice failed to mention that the committee was planning to vote on the demolition of the building, a historic commercial building, even though the demolition was previously voted against.

“The public and the public process were abused to ensure a result, and to me that’s criminal,” Jerry Morosco, a local architect, said after being denied a hearing to oppose the demolition.

Historic panel’s vote to allow razing of building denounced, (8.18.2010)

Tennessee

Each year more and more bills are introduced that would remove public notices from the newspaper. And each year, people fight back to protect the public’s right to know. Tennessee is no exception with an increase from three bills that challenged public notice last year to eight bills this year.

None of the bills has passed both the House and Senate, but that is due to a lot of hard work by opponents working with the legislature.

Can government be trusted to give “public notice?”, (9.16.2010)

Also in Tennessee, the election commission failed to provide public notice before it conducted an early voting session on a Saturday other than the regularly scheduled sessions. The commission met to discuss the early voting violation on August 17 th.

Election Commission to meet Wednesday to discuss its mistake, (8.17.2010)

State

As of this publication, nine legislatures remain in session: California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. Some of the newly introduced bills are highlighted in this section.

For a full account of the myriad of legislation that was introduced this year, please visit the 2010 State Legislative Chart on the PNRC website. As always, please let us know if you have any additions or corrections: info@pnrc.net.

New Jersey

New Jersey bill S-2072/A-2082, a bill to remove public notice from the newspaper, is being fast-tracked through the legislature. Similar to many other bills, the justification for removing published notifications is a “cost-saving measure”.

“Publication of government notices are a worthwhile expenditure that serves the public by providing a concrete record to hold government accountable and by informing citizens of government action.”

“In today’s fast-paced wireless world, websites can be edited or deleted by a single click of a mouse, with little or no oversight,” said Harry Pozycki, Citizens’ Campaign Chair.

Legislation Removing Requirement for Public Notices Threatens Competition and Gov’t Integrity, (7.29.2010)

Tennessee

Fighting legislation that would remove notices from the public’s view works! One example of a challenger to public notice removal is the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government.

“The central argument on all the proposals, more like a mantra, was that more Americans get their information from the Internet, that newspaper circulation is on the decline and that it would be cheaper in tight budget times to trust the government to post those notices somewhere on a government website,” said Frank Gibson, Government Affairs Committee Coordinator for the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government.”

Bills like Tennessee’s HB 2974, a bill to remove public notices from the newspaper and have notices posted on a government website, threaten the public’s right to know. HB 2947 is only one of eight bills proposed this year that would affect the placement of public notices. None have successfully passed both House and Senate.

Proposed public notices changes take narrow view, (August 2010, see page 9 for article)

If a state-run site can’t crashes because the servers can’t handle traffic, how will be public receive notice? That is a question posed in the Tennessee Journal article.

Especially considering that the Secretary of State’s website crashed on election night. Many bills propose placement of public notices on state-run websites.

“Secretary of State Tre Hargett announced before the election that the state would update its website with election returns from throughout the state as received during the night so citizens could follow the races,” an article in the Tennessee Journal stated.

Nice idea, but it didn’t work. “Due to the unprecedented volume of traffic on our website, our servers have crashed,” spokesman Blake Fontenay said early in the evening.

Judicial

In a recent decision, a judge in the Summit County Common Pleas Court found that the school board’s lack of public notice before holding meetings violated the Ohio Sunshine Act. The judge held that the school board conducted public business in private and ordered the board to comply with notice requirements.

“I’m pleased and I hope this will ensure that the things that happened in [the past] don’t happen again,” said Kellie Patterson, a former member of the Cuyahoga Falls School Board.

Ohio does not have specific notice requirements, but publication in a newspaper is one of the options to provide notice. Public bodies are required to give establish at least one reasonable method, by rule, “whereby any person may determine the time and place of all regularly scheduled meetings and the time, place, and purpose of all special meetings.” Ohio Rev. Code § 121.22(F).

Former Falls School Board member wins Sunshine Law case, (7.27.2010)

International

Scotland is facing similar public notice battles to those in the United States. Recently, the Fife Council called for a review of expenditures for publication of public notices in newspaper. The council is using the familiar “cost-saving measure” argument to remove public notices.

In May, the council unanimously approved the development of an online government public notice site, but legislation failed to pass.

Fife councillor calls for review of recruitment advertising costs, (7.27.2010)

In other news…

NCCUSL is considering model law for authentication.

A drafting committee of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) continues work on a draft model bill that would set standards for authentication of legal materials on government websites.

Its draft report states that few states have taken the necessary steps to demonstrate that legal materials on their websites are “authentic,” a term that requires an established chain of custody from lawmaker to end user. For more on the report, see:http://www.law.upenn.edu/bll/archives/ulc/apselm/2010memo_am.pdf.

Government Website “Accountability?” Sorry, the contract expired!

With a barrage of new bills attacking public notices in newspapers, publishers and other activists in Tennessee are fighting back. In an editorial published on August 16th, the Knox News attacked the government’s financial justification for removing notices from newspapers. The editorial highlights the transparency and accountability issues involved in putting public notices on websites.

“Arguments for change ignore the historical reasons for publishing public notices,” stated Frank Gibson, director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government.”

“They are about open government. They are about transparency. They are about accountability to citizens, taxpayers, voters, consumers, homeowners, vendors wanting to provide goods and services to the government, and others. They are a hedge against government secrecy.”

Other issues are that government websites are not secure or dependable. The sites have no operating standards and many local governments don’t even have websites.

Click on the following links to read the full editorial and the full article by Mr. Gibson:

Can government be trusted to give “public notice?”, (August 16, 2010)

Proposed public notices changes take narrow view, (August 2010, see page 9 for article )

NJ Campaign Fights Back Against SB 2072

August 2 – As a follow-up on our initial coverage of New Jersey SB 2072, we wanted to bring your attention to an article in an article by the Citizen’s Campaign, a non-partisan New Jersey organization. The campaign highlighted the importance of public notices in newspapers as a means of keeping the government accountable.

“Publication of government notices are a worthwhile expenditure that serves the public by providing a concrete record to hold government accountable and by informing citizens of government action,” Citizens’ Campaign Chair Harry Pozycki said.

“In today’s fast-paced wireless world, websites can be edited or deleted by a single click of a mouse, with little or no oversight.”

For your convenience, a link to the full article is below:

Legislation Removing Requirement for Public Notices Threatens Competition and Government Integrity, (7.29.2010)

An attempt to keep government in the dark?, (7.20.2010) – This blog post also criticizes the negative effects of allowing bills like SB 2072 to pass.

New Jersey SB 2072 Removes Public Notices from Newspapers

July 22 – We wanted to bring to your attention to a New Jersey SB 2072. This contentious bill just passed a crucial Senate committee earlier this week.  SB 2072 would remove public notices from newspapers and have them posted online on government websites.

“Many small newspaper rely on these legal advertisements to keep afloat,” Star-Ledger publisher Richard Vezza stated in his testimony at the hearing on Monday.

“Without them, local newspapers may close, resulting in less scrutiny of local government and a citizen’s right to know.”

The Jersey City Independent published an article on SB 2072′s movement.

The article will be included in the July issue of of Record, and will be available on the PNRC website. For your convenience, a link to the full article is below:

Trouble for New Jersey’s Newspapers? Bill Moving Public Notices to Web Clears Senate Panel, (7.21.2010)

Protected: Volume 8, Issue II

Volume 8, Issue II

July 22, 2010

Welcome to the July edition of PNRC’s, of Record. With less than a dozen legislatures still in session, there are fewer public notice bills. But the headlines are peppered with public notice violations.

As always, please let us know how best we can help!

Prominent Notices

New Jersey: Public notices to be pulled from newspapers

There have been several alarming bills introduced in New Jersey during the last month. On June 10, SB 2072, permitting the publication of legal notices by both governments and individuals on websites instead of in the newspaper, was introduced.

SB 2072 unanimously passed a critical Senate committee early this week, which is bad news for printed notices. Similar bills were introduced in previous sessions, but neither made it past the Senate.

Trouble for New Jersey’s Newspapers? Bill Moving Public Notices to Web Clears Senate Panel, (7.21.2010)

Four days later, the New Jersey Assembly introduced AB 2870, a bill that would limit the useful information required in publication of notices. The bill would only require publication after introduction of an ordinance to be by title and summary.

Ohio: Legal notices to be moved to only the largest papers

Trouble is brooding on the public notice front in Ohio as well. HB 220, a bill that would direct public notice business to the largest newspapers, was introduced more than a year ago. In early June it passed the House and was referred to the Senate Committee on State and Local Government and Veterans Affairs.

Illinois: Governor signed win-win public notice legislation

Hot off the press!

Governor Quinn signed HB 5232 into law. The legislation requires newspapers that publish legal notices to post the notices online on a statewide website owned collectively by the newspapers.

Congratulations are in order for the Illinois Press Association for its creative collaboration in making HB 5232 a law that will protect the public’s right to know!

Governor Signs Landmark Public Notice Legislation, (7.22.2010)

Articles & Editorials

Colorado

Public notices save homes!

In a startling series of events, and 84-year-old Colorado grandmother found out that her home was foreclosed on and sold – and if it weren’t for the fact that her attorney saw a public notice advertising the foreclosure sale, there may have been a different ending to this outrageous story.

For over a month, the woman’s attorney fought to have the sale reversed. The bank finally responded back stating that she will be getting her home back soon.

Bank to return woman’s home sold without notice, (6.25.2010)

Minnesota

Winona County Commissioners violated the Minnesota Public Meeting Law when they failed to publish public notice of an informal meeting. A quorum of commissioners took a road trip around the county and discussed a variety of upcoming projects.

The open meeting law requires newspaper publication for all gatherings of members of a governing body when a quorum is present. The board chair stated that no decisions were made, but “it would have been a good idea to have the media along.”

“Since a quorum of the board was involved, the gathering in the van was definitely a meeting within the terms of the Open Meeting Law,” Mark Anfinson, Minnesota Newspaper Association Attorney, said.

“And since it occurred at a different time and place than regular meetings, the board should have provided the required notice for special meetings. Simply placing a notice on the web site is not sufficient.”

County tour violates open meeting law, (6.27.2010)

New Jersey

Controversy surrounds the contract renewal of the Jersey City school board’s superintendent. The contract was extended at a closed school board meeting, in direct violation of N.J.S.A. section 18A:11-11, governing public notice requirements for the alteration of a superintendant’s contract.

“If anyone needed further reason for the Governor to step in, here it is: the contract extension is illegal…

“The law states, ‘A board of education shall not renegotiate, extend, amend, or otherwise alter the terms of a contract with a superintendent of schools, assistant superintendent of schools, or school business administrator, unless notice is provided to the public at least 30 days prior to the scheduled action by the board.’”

Over 425 residents filed petitions with the governor’s chief of staff demanding an investigation of the contract extension. The issue is currently under review.

Jersey City school board member filing complaint against superintendent’s contract extension, (6.28.2010)

Hundreds of Jersey City residents ask governor to void superintendent’s contract extension, (7.6.2010)

A good place to start, (7.7.2010)

New Mexico

A series of emails exchanged by the Las Vegas City Council allegedly violated New Mexico’s open meeting laws. Official business was discussed in the email correspondence, therefore, written public notice was required.

“Call it what you will. Special meeting. Work session. Retreat. E-mail messages. Texting,” Sarah Welsh, said.

 “If a quorum of a public body is discussing public business, they have to follow the Open Meetings Act. That means issuing public notice and an agenda. It means allowing the public to attend the discussion. It means keeping minutes.”

Their view: Electronic messaging violates Open Meetings Act, (7.15.2010)

New York

Following the trend we’ve noticed in headlines this past month, the Oswego County Planning Board held a public meeting without providing public notice. The planning board did not respond to inquiries for a copy of the meeting notice.

County planning board may have had illegal meeting, (6.16.2010)

Pennsylvania

Newspapers and AARP speak out about the issues surrounding the public notice newspaper publication waiver. While the school district boasts the removal of public notices from newspapers as a cost-cutting measure, others are concerned that it will compromise the public’s access to information.

A new open records law only requires publication on government websites. However, a study has shown that county governments are failing to comply with its posting requirements.

“It is important that all citizens have the ability to know what actions and proposals are being considered by government entities,” Pennsylvania’s director of AARP, said.

“The public accesses this information in a variety of ways, but one method that is important, especially to older citizens, is through publication in local newspapers,” he continued.

Editorial: SCA should rethink quest for public notice waiver, (6.24.2010)

Tennessee

Two editorials out of Tennessee address radically different public notice issues. The first is a reflection on the Bluff City Police Department allowing its domain name to lapse. The blunder is highlighted as one of many compelling reasons for public notices to stay in newspapers.

“Newspapers have been integral and independent watchdogs of government activity since the beginnings of our democratic society,” Sherrill said.

 “They have a proven track record of continuous publication and pride themselves on never missing an issue,” he continued.

Editorial: Newspapers best place for Public Notices, (6.13.2010, see page five of the PDF document for article )

This article references: Anti-speed camera activist nabs Bluff City PD’s expiring web domain, (6.7.2010)

The second editorial is about the controversy surrounding an Islamic center. The center is still in the planning stages, and local residents cite a public notice violation as one reason for opposition to the planned facility.

Middle Tennessee city divided over proposed Islamic center, (7.15.2010)

State

As of this publication, less than ten legislatures remain in session: California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. Some of the newly introduced bills are highlighted in this section.

For a full account of the myriad of legislation that was introduced this year, please visit the 2010 State Legislative Chart on the PNRC website. As always, please let us know if you have any additions or corrections: info@pnrc.net.

Massachusetts

With so many states trying to remove published notice from newspapers, the language in section 21 of Massachusetts HB 4800 is promising.

HB 4800, an appropriations bill, expands the definition of “newspaper” to include “legal newspapers”. See the full text of sec. 21 below:

Section 21. Whenever a department established under this chapter is required to publish a notice in a newspaper by any general or special law, order, rule or judgment of any court, that department shall be deemed as having met all notice requirements by publishing in a newspaper which by its title page purports to be printed or published in such town, city or county, or having a circulation therein. For purposes of this section, the definition of newspaper shall include legal newspapers.

Pennsylvania

HB 1876, a general bill would keep public notices in newspapers by lowering the cost of advertisement rates.

Newspapers have kept the public informed for over 200 years, and the legislature is trying to tamper with that tradition by removing or relaxing the public notice requirements.

“What’s at stake in any loss of newspaper public notices is the people’s right to know,”

“If Pennsylvanians are best served by notices of school board meetings, township contracts and local zoning changes all being delivered by a free and independent press, then which elected officials would dare take them away?”

Editorial: Public notice: Newspapers deliver on the people’s right to know, (6.14.2010)

Judicial

A Superior Court judge in Alaska held that there was enough evidence in a lawsuit filed by opponents to the Pebble Mine permits. Allegedly, the permits were issued in violation the Alaska Constitution and without public notice.

“The state has issued permits behind closed doors without even looking at the harms to public resources,” plaintiffs’ lawyer Nancy Wainwright said.

According to the lawsuit, the state issued mining permits for over 20 years without providing public notice. Local fishermen are suffering from the impact of exploratory mines near on one of the most productive salmon runs in the region.

Pebble Mine opponents win in court; judge clears way for trial contesting permits, (7.14.2010)

Judge Orders Trial in Lawsuit Challenging the Proposed Pebble Mine’s Exploration Permits, (7.14.2010)

International

The mayor of Toronto, seeks compensation for the destruction caused by violent protestors during the G20 conference.

Partial blame for the violent clashed with local police are believed to be the result of a regulatory change that was only posted on the provincial government website, rather than through an official public notice. The regulatory change made it a jailing offense to refuse to show a police officer identification or submit to a search within five meters of the security fence.

Miller pushes for compensation, blames Ottawa for G20 chaos, (6.28.2010)

In other news…

In response to a news release issued by the Kentucky Division of Water, Executive Director of the Kentucky Press Association, David Thompson, approached the State Energy and Environment Cabinet for clarifications. The response he received was quite the endorsement of publication in newspapers.

The news release stated the cabinet, and especially its Division of Water, would start using electronic means to notify customers of water quality concerns, issues, and permits. Thompson’s concern was that the notices, by law, were required to be published in the newspaper.

According to the cabinet members he spoke to, the electronic notification was simply in addition to the newspaper publication required by law.

 ”I don’t think that government will ever be able to completely eliminate newspaper notification and rely on internet only, simply because not all residences have computers with internet access,” another cabinet member added.

© Copyright 2010 Public Notice Resource Center. All rights reserved.

Massachusetts HB 4800 includes legal newspaper in new definition

In Case You Missed It…

Pending legislation in Massachusetts would redefine newspaper publication of public notices to expressly include legal newspapers.

The bill states:

SECTION 98. Chapter 211B of the General Laws, is hereby amended by adding the following section:

Section 21. Whenever a department established under this chapter is required to publish a notice in a newspaper by any general or special law, order, rule or judgment of any court, that department shall be deemed as having met all notice requirements by publishing in a newspaper which by its title page purports to be printed or published in such town, city or county, or having a circulation therein. For purposes of this section, the definition of newspaper shall include legal newspapers.

A link to the full text of the legislation can be found at:  H.B. 4800

Save the Date

ACCN/PNRC 2010 Conference in Portland, Oregon

 

Protected: Volume 7, Issue II.

 

Volume 7, Issue II

June 18, 2010

Welcome to another edition of PNRC’s, of Record. In this edition, you will find recent trends in “size of locality” posting requirements for bills, a story about a reader who caught errors in a public notice, litigation over failures to publish proper notice and more.

As always, please let us know how best we can help!

Prominent Notices

As part of PNRC’s efforts to monitor legislation around the country to determine trends in public notice legislation, we wanted to bring to your attention a number of bills that have arisen that determine publication requirements based upon the size of the locality.

Most recently, a North Carolina senator introduced a proposal, SB 1381, to permit Internet publication on the county web site of advertisements of tax liens on real property for failure to pay taxes. This bill allows for web site publication of ads in counties with more than 800,000 persons (based on the most recent census).

Similar legislation was introduced this session in Illinois. HB 4610, a property county tax assessment bill, allows for notice on a county web site if the population is less than 3 million persons.

Last year, Nevada and Virginia had similar “size of locality” based public notice bills. Nevada AB 307 as introduced included a provision permitting Internet publication of tax assessment rolls for counties with a population greater than 100,000 persons. The bill was later amended to strike the size of locality provision expanding the Internet publication to any sized county. Neither version of the bill passed.

Likewise, Virginia HB 1879, provided for publication of notices for charter changes, referenda, and public hearings online if the locality had a population of at least 100,000 persons. This measure ultimately failed.

Articles & Editorials

Idaho

An editorial from the Idaho Mountain Express heavily criticizes the Blaine County School District ‘s door-posting announcements of seven special meetings since January, including a major presentation for a $15.1 million contract for district construction funded by a plant facilities levy. The author instead suggests:

“Quit putting special meeting notices where no one will see them, publish them in the newspaper, put them on the district’s website and refuse to hold any meeting in virtual secrecy.

Do the public’s business in public.”

Do the public’s business in public, (6.9.2010)

Oregon

Need further proof that people read public notices in newspapers? And that public notices make a difference?

One reader of the Oregon Democratic Herald proves in the below editorial that public notices in newspapers have an impact.

“Wednesday’s story about math errors in a published budget notice came about because a reader noticed. In other words, the public notice worked. It got somebody’s attention.”

Editors Letter: That public notice worked, (6.5.2010)

In Portland, Oregon, the Daily Journal of Commerce highlighted the importance of keeping public notices in the newspaper. The public notice manager’s article addressed the four key elements of public notice and why newspapers are the best entity to handle publication of notices.

“Ensuring that all four of the key elements are in place when a public notice is published is something that is best handled by an entity with and established, long-term record working with the parties that publish public notices…” public notice manager, Mark Caplan wrote.

Choosing the right paper gives legitimacy to public notices, (6.9.2010)

Pennsylvania

Legislative threats to public notice continue to plague the citizens of Pennsylvania. As the author explains, the momentous loss that would occur if these bills were to succeed would be the impact on a community that is unaware and uninformed about its government activity and decision making.

Editorial: Public notice: Newspapers deliver on the people’s right to know, (6.14.2010)

Tennessee

How effective is public notice on a web site? Just ask the Bluff County Police Department. It found one of its biggest critics suddenly in charge of its site.

Because the police department allowed its web site’s domain name to expire the domain name for the city police department was purchased by an anti-speed camera activist. Notice was given for the expiration of the site via an email to the department and a posting on the web site to notify viewers that the domain had expired. However, the police department failed to take an “active role” in monitoring the site.

“It just slipped my mind,” [Police Chief David] Nelson said, adding that he knows little about computers and the more technical aspects of running a website. “If you open up a website and let it go down, somebody can buy it – I did not know that.”

Anti-speed camera activist nabs Bluff City PD’s expiring web domain, (6.7.2010)

State

As of this publication, just a dozen legislatures remain in session: California, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

For a full account of the myriad of legislation that was introduced this year, please visit the 2010 State Legislative Chart on the PNRC website. As always, please let us know if you have any additions or corrections: info@pnrc.net.

New York

AB 10478, a proposal to amend the election law in New York to remove publication of constitutional amendments from the newspaper and put on the Internet has been introduced.

North Carolina

The Burlington City Council has unanimously voted to amend HB 1688 and SB 1121 and resubmit to the state delegates for the county, legislation that threatened to remove public notice from city land sales and leases. The newly revised proposal now requires the city to follow public records laws. The City Attorney stated that the bill’s intent was to stimulate growth downtown by providing the council with authority to sell land more quickly.

“We would have had public hearings (anyway), but I’m glad these safeguards are in there now,” Councilman Jim Butler stated after the vote.

Burlington council adds public hearings to land-sale bill, (6.1.2010)

Council strikes compromise on downtown bill , (6.14.2010)

Ohio

HB 220, legislation allowing online posting of public notices in addition to newspaper publication, passed the House on June 2 and is now under consideration in the Senate State & Local Government Committee. Additionally, HB 220 changes the publication requirements for legal notice to a “newspaper of general circulation”, which would no longer include legal publications. The bill also states that newspapers must establish government rates and post notices online with no additional fee.

The legislation was introduced “to provide for greater use of technology, and will result in big savings to local governments,” House sponsor Kathleen Chandler (D) said.

House bill to allow public notices online, (6.4.2010)

Tennessee

Proposed county legislation will “require” 90-day notice to any city officials for any city annexation. Current state law requires public notice to be published in a newspaper at least seven days prior to public hearings. It is expected to be voted on by the full County Commission at the June 21 st meeting.

Sullivan County considers 90-day notice for city annexation, (6.6.2010)

Sullivan leaders seek notice from city of annexations, (6.7.2010)

Federal

The federal government, like many state governments, has made the assumption that everyone is using the Internet as a means to gain access to information and is now focusing their efforts on broadband speeds rather than the public’s right to know.

Rather than highlighting where citizens can gain access to information about what is going on in their communities or even the need for expansion of broadband into rural communities, the Federal Communications Commission’s latest report focuses on consumer knowledge of broadband speed. Eighty percent of the nation’s broadband users do not know the speed of their broadband connections, according to the results of a survey on consumer broadband speed released by the FCC in early June. The survey, part of the agency’s broadband speed initiative, found no demographic group had a good awareness of home broadband speeds.

Americans’ perspectives on online connection speeds for home and mobile devices, (6.1.2010)

News Release: FCC Survey Finds 4 out of 5 American’s Don’t Know Their Broadband Speeds, (6.1.2010)

Judicial

Issues surrounding compliance with public notice requirements at the municipal level have raised some contentious legal claims in Louisiana.

A protracted legal battle has begun over the annexation of land along a new four-lane thoroughfare through three cities in Lafayette Parish. The suits arise out of multiple claims of failure to provide proper public notice.

The initial lawsuit filed by the city of Broussard asserted that the Lafayette Consolidated Government failed to follow state public notice laws when it annexed almost 275-acres of land in April. The Lafayette City-Parish Council rescinded the annexation and adhered to the public notice law in its final vote on June 1.

Special meeting to cover land suit, (5.30.2010)

Annexation chess match, (6.1.2010)

The city of Broussard subsequently filed a lawsuit against the neighboring city of Youngsville over another disputed annexation within the southern part of Lafayette Parish again asserting a failure to follow the correct procedure for posting of public notices.

Broussard sues to stop Youngsville annexation, (5.28.2010)

The Lafayette City Parish Council has now filed a counter-claim against Broussard seeking to void one of Broussard’s annexations. Additionally, Lafayette filed a separate claim against Broussard. Lafayette’s claim asserted that Broussard did not comply with public notice statutes in its annexation of a 50-by 50 parcel of land.

Lafayette annexes land, (6.8.2010)

International

The Turkish embassy in Argentina quietly sidestepped laws requiring public notice and hearings about the installation of statutes on public property when it met with Buenos Aries officials about replacing a statute of an Egyptian human rights activist with that of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a Turkish ruler who established the Turkish Republic.

Turkey Fails to Promote Denialist Agenda in Argentina, (5.31.2010)

In other news…

The Atlantic Monthly recently published a lengthy article addressing the complex relationship between Google and the news. Interviews with Google employees, news analysts and others reveal that “the company now considers journalism’s survival crucial to its own prospects”.

“There are a lot of people in the business who think that in the not-too-distant future, the classified share of a paper’s revenue will go to zero,” former web manager from Reuters, Josh Cohen said. “Stop right there. In any business, if you lose a third of your revenue, you’re going to be in serious trouble.”

How to save the news, (Atlantic Monthly – June 2010)

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