Protected: Highlights for the end of June Beginning of July

www.pnrc.net

P.O. Box 5337 – Arlington, VA – 22205

info@pnrc.net – (p) 703.237.9806 – (f) 703.237.9808

Highlights for the end of June and beginning of July  

FEDERAL

Department of Justice

Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 89/ May 9, 2011 Proposed Rule

The Department of Justice proposes to revise, consolidate, and update its seizure and forfeiture regulations, to conform those regulations to the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act.

We are concerned by the proposed § 8.9 Notice of administration forfeiture because the DOJ, FBI, and ATF will have the option to publish notice of seized property in either a newspaper generally circulated in the judicial district where the property was seized ORposted on an official government Internet web site.   We do not believe an official government Internet site will be an effective tool to deliver notice to property owners.

We have submitted a letter in opposition with the support of the American Court and Commercial Newspapers, the National Newspaper Association, and the Newspaper Association of America.

Department of Health and Human Services

Federal Register Vol. 76, No. 881/ May 6, 2011 Proposed Rule

The Department of Health and Human Services proposes to revise the Medicaid Program, covering electronic publications for payment policy changes.  Currently, payment policy changes are published in newspapers or other printed materials allowed under the regulations.  There is proposed language to allow electronic methods of publication

We have submitted a letter in opposition with the support of the American Court and Commercial Newspapers, the National Newspaper Association, and the Newspaper Association of America.

We hope you will capture some of our data for your educational outreach on newspaper published notices.

STATE LEGISLATION

California

SB 948 (Amended 6/30/2011)

Existing property tax law requires the tax collector to publish various notices to a newspaper or 3 public places, relating to, among other things, notice of impending default for failure to pay taxes on real property and notice of intended sale of tax-defaulted property by the tax collector.  This bill would authorize, upon resolution of a board of supervisors in a county or a city and county, those various notices to be published by the tax collector to be posted on the tax collector’s regularly maintained Internet site, as provided.

7/7/11 Passed Com. and re-refer to Com. On APPR with recommendation to consent to calendar

Louisiana

SB 242 (Current Version)

Was amended (Senate Committee Amendment #1615 THPW, Adopted) to increase transparency of parish and state contracts and change orders, has passed Committee and is now pending Senate final passage.

Senator Joe McPherson suggested amending the legislation when it is on the Senate floor to require the public bodies to publish public notice in newspapers.  However, the current amended bill still does not contain Senator McPherson’s suggested amendments.

6/29/2011 Signed by Governor Now Act 343

State Legislatures That Are Currently In Regular Session

Massachusetts

Michigan

New Jersey

Ohio

Pennsylvania

State Legislatures That Are Currently in Special Session

As of this week, California, Virginia, and Wisconsin continue their special sessions.  North Carolina scheduled a limited special redistricting session July 13-21.

Special sessions are expected to be a widespread occurrence in the state legislatures in 2011, in particular due to the necessity of states to conduct the redistricting of state legislative and Congressional districts.

Editorial

Foreclosure notice ruled invalid, PostBulletin.com, 14 July 2011

Government agencies trying to hide notices, again, The Murfreesboro Post, 10 July 2011

UKRD wants public notice law changed, Radio Today Industry News, 28 June 2011

Internet body throws open domain names, Reuters, 20 June 2011

Building a Culture of Efficiency Across the Federal Government, White House blog, 14 June 2011

This month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began implementing an initiative from the 2010 President’s SAVE Award, submitted by Paul Behe, a Cleveland-based DHS employee from Customs and Border Protection. The initiative changes current DHS practices by posting notices of seized property online instead of in print newspapers – avoiding approximately $1 million annually in advertising costs.

© Copyright 2011 Public Notice Resource Center. All rights reserved.

Protected: Highlights for the second week of June

www.pnrc.net

P.O. Box 5337 – Arlington, VA – 22205

info@pnrc.net – (p) 703.237.9806 – (f) 703.237.9808

Highlights for the second week of June

FEDERAL

Department of Justice

Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 89/ May 9, 2011 Proposed Rule

The Department of Justice proposes to revise, consolidate, and update its seizure and forfeiture regulations, to conform those regulations to the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act.   The comment deadline ends July 8, 2011.

We are concerned by the proposed § 8.9 Notice of administration forfeiture because the DOJ, FBI, and ATF will have the option to publish notice of seized property in either a newspaper generally circulated in the judicial district where the property was seized ORposted on an official government Internet web site.   We do not believe an official worldwide government Internet site will be an effective tool to deliver notice to property seized in counties.

Department of Health and Human Services

Federal Register Vol. 76, No. 881/ May 6, 2011 Proposed Rule

The Department of Health and Human Services proposes to revise the Medicaid Program, covering electronic publications for payment policy changes.  Currently, payment policy changes are published in newspapers or in other printed materials allowed under the regulations.  There is proposed language to allow electronic methods of publications.    The comment deadline is July 5, 2011.

People that are on Medicaid are usually individuals that are currently encountering economic hardships.  We are concerned that any posted rate changes on Internet sites–which require a computer, Internet access, and a person familiar with operating a computer and guiding over Internet sites—will leave many people without access in order to receive notice of rate changes.

 Federal Communication Commission

The FCC has released their report on “The Information Needs of Communities” and both NNA and PNRC are cited in the report. (pg. 335)  The report does mention that people without Internet access will be disenfranchised from Internet sites’ notification distribution.

STATE LEGISLATION

California

 SB 948 (Introduced)

SB 948  (Amended 6/7/2011)

Existing property tax law requires the tax collector to publish various notices to a newspaper or 3 public places, relating to, among other things, notice of impending default for failure to pay taxes on real property and notice of intended sale of tax-defaulted property by the tax collector.  This bill would authorize, upon resolution of a board of supervisors in a county or a city and county, those various notices to be published by the tax collector to be posted on the tax collector’s regulatry maintained Internet web site, as provided.

Louisiana

SB 242, (Original Version)

SB 242 (Current Version)

Was amended (Senate Committee Amendment #1615 THPW, Adopted) to increase transparency of parish and state contracts and change orders, has passed Committee and is now pending Senate final passage.

Senator Joe McPherson suggested amending the legislation when it is on the Senate floor to require the public bodies to publish public notice in newspapers.  However, the current amended bill still does not contain Senator McPherson’s suggested amendments.

6/14/2011 Reported favorably (25-0) Referred to the Legislative Bureau.

Maine

LD 940   (Original Version)

C “A” (H-445)  (Current Version)

LD 940 was amended C “A” (H-445) and passed the House on 6/1/2011 and the Senate on 6/2/2011.  The amendment replaces the bill.  It requires the Secretary of State to publish adopted rule notices only on the publicly accessible website maintained by the Secretary of State. The bill removes all proposed and adopted rules from publication in the newspaper beginning July 1, 2012. The amendment also requires the General Fund savings from reducing newspaper publication to be allocated to the Secretary of State to be used for improving the website and requires the Secretary of State to submit a progress report to the Joint Standing Committee on State and Local Government by January 15, 2012. The amendment also adds an appropriations and allocations section.

SP 442

6/8/2011 Passed Senate and House

This bill completely removes storage unit owners’ responsibility from publishing notice of tenants’ delinquent payments in local newspapers prior to auctioning their belongings.   Please see language below.

2. Notice.   As soon as the occupant is in default and before conducting a sale under subsection 1, the operator shall:

A. Send a notice of default by regular mail and by certified mailverified mail and by either first-class mail or electronic mail to the occupant at the occupant’s last known address or other address set forth by the occupant in the rental agreement whichthat includes:

(1) A statement that the contents of the occupant’s leased space are subject to the operator’s lien. The sale must take place at least 15 days after the provision of notice under subsection 2;

(2) A statement of the operator’s claim, indicating the charges due on the date of the notice, the amount of any additional chargeswhich shallthat become due before the date of sale and the date those additional charges shall become due;

(3) A demand for payment of the charges due within a specified time, not less than 14 days after the date of the notice;

(4) A statement that unless the claim is paid within the time stated, the contents of the occupant’s space will be sold, specifying the time and place; and

(5) The name, street address and telephone number of the operator, or the operator’s designated agent, whom the occupant may contact to respond to the notice; and.

B.   Publish an advertisement of the sale once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or town where the sale is to be held. The advertisement must include a general description of the property as set forth in the rental agreement, the name of the person on whose account it is being held and the time and place of the sale. The sale must take place at least 15 days after the first publication.

 Nevada

 SB 150

Approved  by the governor on 6/13/2011

This bill revises certain provisions governing liens of owners of facilities for storage.  Please note, this bill does not alter Nevada’s current requirements

that storage owners publish delinquent tenant’s information in newspapers prior to auction.

SB 82

Approved by the governor on 6/13/2011

Adds language that requires advertisements for bids to be published on the Chief Purchasing website (in addition to the current standard of newspaper publication)

 Ohio

HB 153

Passed House on 5/5/11 and Senate 6/8/11

Eliminates the specific requirements that the Governor publish the genera Assembly appointment for four consecutive weeks in newspapers in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus, but retains the general requirement that the Governor publish the appointment.

Judicial

WISCONSIN –The Wisconsin Supreme Court heard arguments on June 6 on whether to accept the case about whether the law dealing with public employees’ collective bargaining rights should take effect because the legislative branch did not comply with public notice law after passage.  In a split decision 4-3, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the law should take effect.

Wall Street Journal, Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Antiunion Law, 15 June 2011

Editorial

Bloomberg Business, “Facebook Used by Courts to Find Those Who Are ‘Only Online,’” 7 June 2011

Los Angeles Times, Federal government to delete half its websites, 15 June 2011

© Copyright 2011 Public Notice Resource Center. All rights reserved

Protected: Highlights for the first week of June

www.pnrc.net

P.O. Box 5337 – Arlington, VA – 22205

info@pnrc.net – (p) 703.237.9806 – (f) 703.237.9808

Highlights for the first week of June

HOT TOPICS

State Legislation on Published Notification       

Maine LD 940  was completely amended C “A” (H-445) and passed the House on 6/1/2011 and the Senate on 6/2/2011. It requires the Secretary of State to publish adopted rule notices only on the publicly accessible website maintained by the Secretary of State.

New York A.B. 8078 allows Westchester County to publish notices on their web site instead of newspapers.

North Carolina HB 472 allows all cities and counties to post public notices on their web site instead of newspapers

Storage Unit Owners’ Notification to Tenants of Overdue Payments

We continue to monitor state legislators’ attempt to reduce the responsibilities of storage unit owners in notifying tenants–through newspaper publications–of their late monthly or yearly payments.  We believe through proper published newspaper notification that tenants are more likely to learn of their late payment status and the notification will provide tenants with an opportunity to cure any overdue payments.

STATE LEGISLATION

California

 SB 948 (Introduced)

SB 948 (Amended)

Existing property tax law requires the tax collector to publish various notices in a newspaper or 3 public places, relating to, among other things, notice of impending default for failure to pay taxes on real property and notice of intended sale of tax defaulted property by the tax collector.  This bill would authorize, upon resolution of board supervisors in a county or a city and county, those various notices to be published by the tax collector to be posted on the tax collector’s regularly maintained Internet Web site, as provided.

On May 23, the bill passed the Senate. The bill is currently in the assembly and on June 3rd, the bill was re-referred to Coms. on L. Gov. and Rev. & Tax.

Florida (Adjourned)

 Session Wrap-up Information

Florida House and Senate companion bills to move all government notices to government websites (HB 89 and SB 914) and other bills to eliminate requirements for notice of self-service storage auctions and certain elections, as well as to eliminate altogether judicial foreclosure proceedings of commercial properties were all defeated, with great effort and at considerable expense, during the recently concluded session of the Florida Legislature.

By far the most dangerous legislation proposed was buried deep in the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Conforming Bill in the chaos of the closing hours of session. Foreclosure lawyer Jim Albertelli’s lobbyist – a former secretary of state and former member of the legislature — tried to insert unfavorable language to newspaper notification. It would have moved all foreclosure sales notices out of the state’s newspapers and onto the Internet, with criteria that essentially prescribed the website of an Albertelli spinoff, PREO.com.  Luckily, ACCN’s fast thinking lobbyist caught line 13 of SB 2116: “Foreclosure notices on Internet.” An all-out, coordinated, full-press scramble over the next 48 hours (over the weekend, no less) by half a dozen lobbyists and publishers coordinated by ACCN President Chris Mobley and the Florida Press Association, an affiliate member of the PNRC, managed to get the language deleted. Too close! Albertelli Law operates in several states, as does PREO.com

Illinois

SB 1394 (Introduced)

SB 1394 (Enrolled)

Originally, the introduced bill provided that after the notice period run for providing a tenant notice of their delinquent payments, the advertisement of the sale for their stored property may be made on a designated website, OR in a locally recognized publication OR newspaper of general circulation.   However, Senate Amendment No. 3  amended the original version to include “the advertisement of the sale SHALL be published in a newspaper of general circulation (instead of on a designated website of in a publication of general circulation.)

On May 31^st, the bill passed both houses.

Louisiana

SB 242, (Original Version)

SB 242 (Current Version)

Was amended (Senate Committee Amendment #1615 THPW, Adopted) to increase transparency of parish and state contracts and change orders, has passed Committee and is now pending Senate final passage.

Senator Joe McPherson suggested amending the legislation when it is on the Senate floor to require the public bodies to publish public notice in newspapers.  However, the current amended bill still does not contain Senator McPherson’s suggested amendments.

The Times Picayune reports that bill sponsor, Sen. Conrad Appel said he will consider amending his bill to require the public notice advertisement.

Procedures for Changing Public Contracts Would Change Under Louisiana Senate Bill

Maine

LD 392

This bill removes municipal notices from newspapers, in favor of direct mail or electronic delivery.  The bill has passed the House, but is now DEAD in the Senate.

LD 940   (Original Version)

C “A” (H-445)  (Current Version)

LD 940 was amended C “A” (H-445) and passed the House on 6/1/2011 and the Senate on 6/2/2011.  The amendment replaces the bill.  It requires the Secretary of State to publish adopted rule notices only on the publicly accessible website maintained by the Secretary of State. The bill removes all proposed and adopted rules from publication in the newspaper beginning July 1, 2012. The amendment also requires the General Fund savings from reducing newspaper publication to be allocated to the Secretary of State to be used for improving the website and requires the Secretary of State to submit a progress report to the Joint Standing Committee on State and Local Government by January 15, 2012. The amendment also adds an appropriations and allocations section.

Nevada

 SB 65 (As Introduced)

SB 65 (As Enrolled)

SB 65 passed both the Senate on April 14, 2011 and passed the Assembly on May 30, 2011.

Existing law requires the clerk and council of each city incorporated under

general law or charter to publish in a newspaper a quarterly statement of the city’s

finances that shows the receipts and disbursements and the details of each bill that

the city has paid. (NRS 268.030) Section 2 of this bill requires the publication of

only the total amounts of the city’s receipts, disbursements and bills paid for the

quarter but expressly provides that the receipts, bills and other documents which

support each transaction that is included in the published totals are public records

which are available for inspection and copying. Section 2 also requires publication

of the financial statement on the Internet website of the city, if the city maintains an

Internet website.

 New York

A.B. 8078

On May 31^st, Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow introduced A.B. 8078, an act to amend the county law, in relation to publication of legal notices on the official Westchester County website instead of newspapers.   According to Assembly Pretlow, the justification for the bill is to save hundreds of thousands of dollars by using an electronic circulation that can reach more people, instead of a print circulation.   If this bill prevails, it becomes effective immediately.

North Carolina

HB 472

Representatives Chuck McGrady, Paul Stam, Bill Owens, and Darren Jackson, introduced this bill which allows all cities and counties to post public notices on their web site instead of newspapers

As of 5/24/11, the bill has been Re-ref to the House Committee on Rules.

Noteworthy Newspaper Publications on HB 472

Daily Advance.com, Legal notice legislation again rears its ugly head, 31 May 2011

Gaston Gazette, House Bill 472 is not a vendetta, 7 June 2001

HB 307

The bill provides counties with the authority to adopt ordinances providing that legal notice of public hearings may be published through electronic means in lieu of publication in any newspaper.

As of 5/26/11 the bill was Re-ref on Commerce and Job Development Subcommittee on Science and Technology

Ohio

 HB 95 (Enrolled)

Utilities commission notice of hearing for an increase in rates, the notice for such hearings must be published for two consecutive weeks.  This bill, however, mandates the first publication shall be made in its entirety in a newspaper, but the second publication may be abbreviated and be delivered on the newspaper’s and commission’s web site.

Passed House 5/11/2011

Passed Senate 5/25/11

Sent to Governor 5/31/11

Tennessee

HB 1920/SB 1299

The Tennessee legislature attempted to reduce the number of published notifications from three to one HB 1920/SB 1299 before foreclosure proceedings begin.  Then the Senate passed an amendment  changing the number of published notifications from three to two. Ultimately, however, an amendment   was passed restoring the original number of published notifications to three.

The bill was signed by both the Senate President and Speaker on May 25, 2011.

Next, the Governor may sign the bill; veto it; or allow it to become law without his signature. The Governor is allowed ten days (Sundays excepted) after a bill is presented to him to approve or veto the bill; if he takes no action within that period, the bill becomes a law without his signature.

TN. Stat. § 35-5-101 will continue to require notification be published three (3) different times.

Texas (Legislature is currently in special session)

We continue to anticipate future bills–in future sessions–that will attempt to authorize publication of public notices on government web sites, instead of newspapers.

Although HB 400, is dead, that proposal included a provision allowing districts to shift public notices from newspapers to their own school websites.  Districts currently must publish newspaper notices about certain meetings and financial performance.  The bill would have allowed a district to self-publish some notices, while other notices would be absent from publications.

Please note that Rep. Anchia of Dallas, in presenting another bill, said “… for people without Internet connections at home, school, or work, public libraries are the primary point of online access, and for 67 percent of Texans, they provide the only free means of online access in their communities.”  Anchia also said Texas is ranked 48^th in funding of public libraries.

We believe these statements help demonstrate that Texas has inadequate resources for people—that are without access to the internet–to receive notification by web site postings.

We will continue to monitor the Texas legislature and inform you of any new bills.

Judicial

WISCONSIN – The battle in Wisconsin over legislation to limit public employees’ collective bargaining rights continues, with implications for public notice.  Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi issued a decision May 26 voiding the law simply because the legislation was passed in violation of state open-meetings requirements of published public notice.

The following day, the State Justice Department asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to immediately vacate Sumi’s decision.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court heard arguments on June 6 on whether to accept the case.

The case is State of Wisconsin Ex Rel. Ozanne v. Fitzgerald, 11cv1244, Dane County, Wisconsin, Circuit Court.

Editorials

Donald W. Reynolds Journalism institute, Small papers lead in charging for online content

Joel Campbell, Utah battles public notice legislation

© Copyright 2011 Public Notice Resource Center. All rights reserved

Protected: PNRC Highlights for the End of May 2011

 www.pnrc.net

P.O. Box 5337 – Arlington, VA – 22205

info@pnrc.net – (p) 703.237.9806 – (f) 703.237.9808

Highlights for the Week of May 30, 2011…

Prominent Notices

Tennessee law will still require three notices be published in a newspaper before a foreclosure proceeding can begin, despite legislative efforts to reduce the number of notices.  The House and Senate both passed an amendment eliminating the change in the law and subsequently the bill passed both chambers with only two dissenting votes in the House.

Lobbyists for the Tennessee Bankers Association, proponents of the bill, argued that the notices often don’t produce qualified buyers.  Opponents of the legislation, including the Tennessee Press Association, some foreclosure attorneys and consumer advocates maintained that public notice is important to protect public confidence in the process.

The original proposal (HB 1920/SB 1299) would have reduced the number of notices required down to merely one notice.  Anamendment was later introduced to bring the number back to two notices.

The legislation does alter the notice slightly by reducing the amount of information that is required to be published.

The Memphis Daily News reports that the main House proponent of the bill, state Rep. Jimmy Matlock, has hinted he will bring up the issue again next year.

Foreclosure Notice Bill Sees Little Change

Judicial

WISCONSIN – The battle in Wisconsin over legislation to limit public employees’ collective bargaining rights continues, with implications for public notice.  Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi issued a decision May 26 voiding the law simply because the legislation was passed in violation of state open-meetings requirements of published public notice.

The following day, the State Justice Department asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to immediately vacate Sumi’s decision.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear arguments to consider accepting the case on June 6.

The case is State of Wisconsin Ex Rel. Ozanne v. Fitzgerald, 11cv1244, Dane County, Wisconsin, Circuit Court.

Wisconsin DOJ Asks Court to Lift Ban on Union Law

State Legislation

LOUISIANA – SB 242, legislation to increase transparency of parish and state contracts and change orders, has passed Committee and is now headed for consideration by the full Senate.

To better inform the public, Senator Joe McPherson has suggested amending the legislation when it is on the Senate floor to require the public bodies to publish public notice in newspapers.

The Times Picayune reports that bill sponsor, Sen. Conrad Appel said he will consider amending his bill to require the public notice advertisement.

Procedures for Changing Public Contracts Would Change Under Louisiana Senate Bill

MAINE – Three bills have been introduced this legislature affecting public notice.  LD 1445, which would have removed all state notices from newspapers by July 1, 2012 and place them on a state-operated website, is now dead.

Along with that bill, two others have been proposed: LD 392 would remove municipal notices from newspapers, in favor of direct mail or electronic delivery has passed the House, but is now tabled in the Senate; and LD 940 would eliminate notices of adopted rules from newspapers has not yet seen action in Committee.

Maine Newspapers Fight LePage’s Proposed Public Notice Change

Public Notices Should Remain in Newspapers

MISSOURI – An amendment to House Bill 142, would have allowed some cities and the Missouri Municipal League to post construction bid notices on web sites, rather than publishing them in local newspapers, was pulled last week.

The issue of Internet notices is expected to return next legislative session.

PENNSYLVANIA – A hearing was held on May 19 on House Bill 633, which would lift the requirement on local governments and school boards to advertise legal notices in newspapers.  Newspaper publishers testified about how moving public notices online denies many people access to important public information.  Additionally, AARP testified that this is “an idea whose time may not have come.”

 “And, while insisting that online is where people get their information, state Association of Township Supervisors spokesman Elam Herr “confessed” he reads a newspaper every day and isn’t on Facebook.”

Keeping Notices in Print is Important for Public Right to Know

TEXAS – HB 400, legislation dealing with public school management, has hit a major procedural road block missing a midnight deadline on Thursday for preliminary approval before being declared done for the Session.

The proposal included a provision allowing districts to shift public notices from newspapers to their own school websites.  Districts currently must publish newspaper notices about certain meetings and financial performance.  The bill would have allowed a district to self-publish some notices, while others would not need to be published anywhere.

Although this bill is dead, it is possible the proposal could be attached as an amendment to another piece of moving legislation.

Editorials

At least a dozen editorials have been written about public notice legislation in Pennsylvania in just the last week!  Pennsylvania Newspaper Association has created a website: http://www.savepublicnotices.org/  to capture the editorials as well as provide information about why public notices belong in newspapers.

This Pennsylvania editorial written by a concerned citizen is brief, but provides a great real-life example of a school district that thought publishing bid notices on a state website would save money.  However, the school district realized that not much money was saved and at the end of the day returned to publishing the notices in the printed newspaper.

Paperless Public Notice Plan Premature

The mission of the Public Notice Resource Center is to collect, analyze, and disseminate information on public and private notifications to the public through local newspapers, and to educate the public on the value and use of its right to know.

© Copyright 2011 Public Notice Resource Center. All rights reserved.

Protected: (PNRC) highlights for the Week of May 9, 2011

Highlights for the Week of May 9, 2011…

Prominent Notices

Tennessee House Bill 1920, a proposal to reduce the number of public notices required in a newspaper for a foreclosure from three down to two notices, has passed the House by a vote of 62-30.  The Senate companion bill, SB 1299, has passed the Judiciary Committee and could come up for a vote before the full Senate at any time.

The original bill would have reduced the number of notices from three down to only one.

State Legislation

MINNESOTA – The House Government Operations Committee voted this week to remove language from HF 705 that would have authorized municipalities to switch their legal notices to government Web sites.

NORTH CAROLINA – The proposal to allow local governments to post notices on their own website HB 472 was defeated by a vote of 21-10 in the House Government Committee.

OHIO – House Bill 95, which in its first draft would have removed all public notice requirements for utility rate filings and related public hearings, has now been amended to require two print notices.  The House has passed the legislation and it has been sent to the Senate.

Additionally, the budget proposal includes language on public notices.  The legislation permits governments to post notices online, when a website is available.  It further authorizes the creation of a state-wide website for public notices.  The proposal does include a “grandfather clause” for legal journals.  The House budget proposal has been sent to the Senate.

TENNESSEE – Governor Bill Halsam has signed into law a bill (HB 1265/SB 1293) on self-storage facilities that reduces the publication requirement from two weeks down to only one.

Articles

Public notices on Facebook and Twitter?  Yes says Clay Johnson, a blogger who writes about “information obesity, information diets, and civic accountability.”

In his post, Johnson argues that public notices do not belong in newspapers or even on government websites because nobody knows about or goes to these sites.

“Putting the public notice online is the digital equivalent of printing the public notice and taping it to the front door of the federal agency. If nobody’s walking by, nobody’s going to see it. The spirit of the APA [Administrative Procedure Act] is such that public notices ought to notify the public. This worked with newspapers because newspapers had circulations. It doesn’t work with federal websites because more often than not, they don’t. The right answer is to move the public notice and the public inquiry online, but it’s not to put it in a virtual basement.”

Instead, he argues that social networking has empowered the media to communicate directly with people and would be a better platform for public notices in this technological age.

Rebooting Public Notices

Editorials

This Pennsylvania editorial urges citizens to get involved in protecting public notices in newspapers and dispels the argument that government websites are free.

“Many local governments don’t have the resources to maintain 24/7, secure, searchable archived websites. In fact, many smaller jurisdictions have found they need lots of money and professional staff or consultants to keep their websites current — and instead let them go. The cost to local governments to create, maintain and update websites will run into the millions.”

Say ‘No’ to Legislators’ Attempt to Comandeer the Public-Notice Process

The mission of the Public Notice Resource Center is to collect, analyze, and disseminate information on public and private notifications to the public through local newspapers, and to educate the public on the value and use of its right to know.

© Copyright 2011 Public Notice Resource Center. All rights reserved.

Protected: highlights for the Week of May 2, 2011

Highlights for the Week of May 2, 2011…

State Legislation

MAINE – Three bills have been introduced by Rep. Teresa Hayes on public notices.  One bill would only require publishing of notices in newspapers when new rules were proposed and set for public hearing, eliminating the second publication when a rule is adopted.  Another proposal would allow municipalities to publish notices in free newspapers or in an electronic distribution if more than 50 percent of all households subscribe to receive the notice.  The final bill would require a study of public notices with the thought that the number of notices can be reduced.  Similar bills have been introduced in recent years.

Bill Would Cut Legal Ads From Newspapers

Judicial

UPDATES – Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear arguments on June 6 to determine whether Judge Sumi’s order to stop the state law, which limits collective bargaining by public union employees on the grounds of inadequate public notice, was just.

State Political News: June 6 A Big Day for the Collective Bargaining Dispute

Articles

A great example of a newspaper highlighting not only the public notices published in its newspaper, but also why these legal notices are so important to the public.  In this case, the notices concern financial summaries of various insurance companies licensed to do business in South Dakota.

Public Notices highlight insurance companies’ Financial Condition

A city council budget vote was postponed because the public notice published in The Virginian-Pilot’s community news section omitted information about a 3-cent increase on the real estate tax rate.  City Clerk Debra White acknowledged the error by the City and a new ad was issued.

Portsmouth postpones budget vote to May 10

Editorials

Susan Lynn, a former Tennessee legislator, wrote an editorial against House Bill 1920, a proposal introduced on behalf of the Tennessee Bankers Association to reduce the number of public notices required in a newspaper for a foreclosure from three down to only one notice.  Tennessee is one of only five states that do not require a court to review or approve a foreclosure sale.

The bill has already cleared the House Judiciary Committee, with only two dissenting votes.  A companion bill in the Senate, SB 1299, has been placed on the Committee calendar.

Banks try to hasten foreclosures in state (The Tennessean)

The mission of the Public Notice Resource Center is to collect, analyze, and disseminate information on public and private notifications to the public through local newspapers, and to educate the public on the value and use of its right to know.

© Copyright 2011 Public Notice Resource Center. All rights reserved.

Protected: highlights for the Week of April 25, 2011

Highlights for the Week of April 25, 2011…

State Legislation

CONNECTICUT – Legislation to allow municipalities to move their public notices online was killed in Committee last week.  This year’s campaign to save public notices was relatively quiet, in stark contrast to last year’s high profile public advertisements in newspapers statewide.  The low-key strategy was based on meetings with Governor Dannel P. Molloy earlier this year where he told newspaper publishers and editors he was against the bill.

Newspapers Win Battle on Legal Notices; Bill Rejected for Third Year on Allowing Towns to Post Notices on Internet

PENNSYLVANIA – HB 633, a proposal to move public notices online, was pulled from Committee consideration this week due in part to active participation, including calls, visits and editorials, by newspapers across the state.

Articles

The dangers of digital archiving – who can ensure that the gatekeeper of the data will continue to preserve the information?

Google recently announced that its business interests were shifting and, as a result, would be deleting the content of its video archives.  However, after a public outcry Google reconsidered and is now exploring other options.

“Google acted admirably by listening to users and working to save the videos but entrusting such vast cultural archives to a body that has no explicit responsibilities to protection, archiving and public cultural welfare is inherently dangerous: as the situation made clear, private sector bodies have the ability to destroy archives at a whim” wrote Simon Barron, a librarian for the British Army with special interests in digital libraries, ebooks, and the future of the Internet, in a recent article in the United Kingdom’s Guardian newspaper.

Google Can’t Be Trusted With Our Books

The Newspaper Archive Summit was recently held at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute in Columbia, Missouri where scholars, journalists, newspaper publishers, librarians, digital archivists and digital newspaper vendors gathered to discuss the issue of digital archiving.

The event included a dialogue about the danger of losing vast troves of information published in newspapers.  Protecting this public information is crucial to democracy and due process, “because no-one can really say what’s of value until someone goes looking for it” argued Emily Lambert, a business reporter for Forbes.

Finding Money in Newspaper Archives

A public notice published in the Abilene Reporter-News may be the only insight into a criminal investigation of the Internal Revenue Service’s intent to seize nearly $500,000 in funds from three Abilene, Texas bank accounts.

Nearly $500k in Abilene Bank Accounts to Be Seized as Part of Criminal Investigation

Editorials

PENNSYLVANIA

Citizens Lose if Legal Ads Run Only on Government Websites

TENNESSEE

Access to Open Records Under Fire by Legislation

Public Notice Bills Threaten Democracy

The mission of the Public Notice Resource Center is to collect, analyze, and disseminate information on public and private notifications to the public through local newspapers, and to educate the public on the value and use of its right to know.

© Copyright 2011 Public Notice Resource Center. All rights reserved.

Protected: highlights for the Week of April 18, 2011

Highlights for the Week of April 18, 2011…

State Legislation

ARIZONA – The legislature adjourned rejecting all efforts to eliminate or alter public notice requirements.  SB 1399 eliminating all newspaper publication requirements of corporations and partnerships failed on an up/down vote in the Senate.  Similarly, SB 1605eliminating newspaper publication notice requirements for RFP’s also failed.  Finally, SB 1226, which in its original form would have amended newspaper publication requirements for the notice of the availability of the tax roll, was the subject of a strike-everything amendment which changed the nature of the bill completely, thus abandoning the proposed changes to publication requirements.

NEVADA – AB 342, which would have given state and local governments the option of placing public notices on the web or in newspapers, has been killed in committee.  A few bills concerning public notices are still alive in the Nevada legislature, but this was by far the most damaging for newspapers.

The bill was defeated in part because of testimony by the Nevada Press Association (“NPA”).  They argued that notices should be published both in the newspaper and on the web, because their purpose is to disseminate important information to as many Nevada residents as possible.  Emphasizing the key elements of access and accountability, they reminded the legislature that NPA already has a statewide site, www.publicnoticeads.com/NV, and that allowing governments to publish notices on their own sites makes them accountable to no one but themselves.

PENNSYLVANIA – Recently introduced legislation, SB 803, would relax the legal requirement for public school districts to advertise public notices in newspapers and permit the school district to decide where to publish the notice.  Publication would be permissible on:  the school district’s website, in a newspaper in the school district, in a general circulation newspaper, in a legal newspaper, on a newspaper website OR in a community newspaper of mass dissemination.

School notice: Curbing the right to know, in the guise of thrift (The Post-Gazette)

Additionally, HB 633 a proposal to allow for electronic publication of legal notices has been introduced.  This is similar to bills that have been introduced in previous years.

TENNESSEE – Legislation has been introduced in both Chambers on behalf of the Tennessee Bankers Association, according to The Tennessean, to reduce the number of public notices required in a newspaper for a foreclosure from three down to only one notice.  Tennessee is one of only five states that do not require a court to review or approve a foreclosure sale.

The bill has already cleared a House subcommittee.

State Bills Would Reduce Foreclosure Notices (Memphis Daily News)

Banks Want to Reduce Public Notice for Foreclosures (The Tennessean)

Articles

A new study from Microsoft, “Living with the Internet: What’s Driving Web Behavior?” concludes that some web users find the Internet too addictive.  Likening the Internet to heroin or the video game “Angry Birds,” the article sheds new light on the public’s use of the Internet.

Microsoft Claims Fear Drives Net Use

Federal government websites, such as Data.gov and USASpending.gov will be significantly hampered, and there is a high likelihood they will be made inoperable, due to a lack of funding.  The budget resolution passed last week reduced the electronic government fund to $8 million, down from a proposed $35 million.

The Death of Open Data

At risk are many government websites that purport to provide transparency and information to many, but some argue are rarely ever accessed.

The blogger of Flowing Data, a visualization and statistics site, recently gave his opinion to The Guardian about the effects of Data.gov on the flow of information.

“As for Data.gov, the sense that I get is that people like to know that it exists— the idea that politicians have to be held accountable for their actions— but few people actually use the service.”

Data.gov in crisis: the open data movement is bigger than just one site

Editorials

NORTH CAROLINA – Lots of attention is being brought to public notice legislation, as evidenced by the large number of editorials recently published.  A sampling can be found below.

Electronic Notices Won’t Keep Everyone Informed (Charlotte Observer)

Citizens Need Easy Access to Public Notices (Gaston Gazette)

Make Government Less Transparent (The Pilot)

PENNSYLVANIA – An editorial on SB 803 citing specific statistics on the significant number of people who still do not have access to the Internet and pledging to fight for transparency.

EDITORIAL: Still looking for light in darkness (The Times Herald)

TEXAS – Legislation (HB 400) to permit school districts to post notices on their internal website instead of in the newspaper could come to the House floor this week.  This editorial highlights why public notices in newspapers are important to transparency of government

School Districts Notices Belong in Newspapers (Houston Chronicle)

The mission of the Public Notice Resource Center is to collect, analyze, and disseminate information on public and private notifications to the public through local newspapers, and to educate the public on the value and use of its right to know.

© Copyright 2011 Public Notice Resource Center. All rights reserved.

Protected: highlights for the Week of April 11, 2011

Highlights for the Week of April 11, 2011…

State Legislation

Although it is still relatively early in the legislative year, many attempts to remove public notice from newspapers have already been thwarted.  And one state has even put legal notices back in the newspaper after losing them a few years ago.

Below, are the public notice bills that have already been defeated or tabled for the session in 2011:

Articles

Although a shutdown of the federal government was avoided, federal government websites were still affected this week.  The United States Postal Service encountered several outages on its website due to a malware problem creating headaches for their public relations department.

USPS Web Site Infected by Exploit (April 7, 2011)

Editorials

ALABAMA – To A Corner of the Web

This author argues why a proposal introduced to move public notices from the newspaper to a government website is not the best option at this time.

“There may come a time when every Alabamian has continuous high-speed access to the World Wide Web, and can reach whatever information they want quickly and easily. That day isn’t here, yet.”

“Removing legal advertisements from their traditional vehicles won’t improve notification of the public, it will squirrel the information away in a manner that will make its accessibility difficult for almost half the state’s population.”

FLORIDA – Lawmakers Proposal to Allow Internet-Only Legal, Meeting Notices Brings Objections POLL

In reference to a bill that would allow a local government to use its publicly accessible website for legally required advertisements and public notices, Dominic Calabro, President and CEO of Florida Tax Watch said:

“Government notices on government-run websites take away the neutrality and independence of a newspaper or other third party. The temptation would be too high for governments to miss notification deadlines, leave out critical information, or make changes electronically to items on their websites without public knowledge,” he said in a statement. “The minimal cost … is a small price to pay to protect our country’s freedoms that our men and women in uniform fight to support and defend.”

NORTH CAROLINA – Taking Government Notices Out of Newspapers Dangerous

In the context of pending legislation to remove public notices from newspapers and put on a government website, this author stated the importance of a newspaper in the public notice debate.

“How ironic that, had it not been for a story published in this newspaper, most residents would not have been aware the county had even requested the change in state law.”

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The mission of the Public Notice Resource Center is to collect, analyze, and disseminate information on public and private notifications to the public through local newspapers, and to educate the public on the value and use of its right to know.

© Copyright 2011 Public Notice Resource Center. All rights reserved.