Featured Issues Regarding Public Notices

S.D. Paper Leads Charge to Require Public Notice of City Meetings
If you ever doubted the power of the local newspaper to effect change, one South Dakota publisher has good news: thanks in part to his newspaper’s six-year effort, all city meetings are now open to the public, with public notice of those meetings posted.

Prior to the September 16 Watertown, S.D., city council meeting, the city’s finance and public works committees, established by city ordinance, were not required to post a public notice of upcoming meetings, capture the minutes of those meetings or provide them to the public when asked. But, thanks in large part to reporting done by the Watertown Public Opinion, the city council has now passed an ordinance change which requires all city meetings be open to the public.

“We’ve beat this drum awfully hard over the years,” Public Opinion publisher Mark Roby tells of Record, “including a request to each new city council (we have elections every two years) to change the ordinance.  Finally, a new mayor was elected this July, and he made it happen.”

An editorial in the September 17 issue of the paper recaps the actions which led to the ordinance change: “In 2007 the citizens of Watertown were confronted with the stark reality of not having these committee meetings open to the public. At that time, the city finance committee met in secret, with no public notice and to this date, no known minutes of that meeting were ever captured for subsequent review by the public. On a 5-1 vote, they created a plan to raid $4 million a year from our city-owned independently operated Municipal Utilities. This represented a four-fold increase over the $875,000 annual transfer by the utilities to the city’s general fund.”

Roby has provided of Record with PDFs of the newspaper’s original reporting on the raid of the Municipal Utilities bank account, as well as the newspaper editorial and his own column celebrating the victory for public notice.

A 2011 survey commissioned by the South Dakota Newspaper Association indicated that 50% of South Dakotans read public notices in the local newspaper either frequently or at least sometimes. The same survey showed that three-fourths of South Dakotans believe public notices should continue to be published in newspapers.

Decision may cause utility hike – The Watertown Public Opinion (8.14.2007, original reporting)
Good news at City Hall – The Watertown Public Opinion (9.17.2013, reaction to ordinance change)
A good day for Watertown residents – The Watertown Public Opinion (9.18.2013, reaction to ordinance change)
South Dakota Newspaper Association’s Public Notice Video – SDNA YouTube Channel

92% of Offline Adults ‘Not Interested’ in the Internet
A Pew Internet Project study has found that 15% of American adults do not use the internet at all, and another 9% of adults use the internet but not at home. Key findings from the study include:

• 32% of non-internet users cite reasons tied to their sense that the internet is not very easy to use. These non-users say it is difficult or frustrating to go online, they are physically unable, or they are worried about other issues such as spam, spyware, and hackers. This figure is considerably higher than in earlier surveys.
• 17% of all non-internet users say they would be able to start using the internet on their own if they wanted to; 63% said they would need assistance.
• Of offline adults studied, just 8% say they would like to start using the internet or email, while 92% say they are not interested.

Who’s not online and why – Pew Internet Project (9.25.2013)

Maine Newspapers Exchange Periodicals Tax for Public Notice
An October 1 tax increase in Maine has raised the prices on everything just about everything in the state, including newspapers and other periodicals, which became subject to the state’s 5.5% sales tax for the first time. That’s not really the story, though, as of Record knows of a number of other states where newspapers are also taxable.

What’s more interesting is a report by the Portland Press Herald that explains why the Maine Press Association dropped its opposition to the newly-taxable status of newspapers:

“The Maine Press Association, a trade group that includes the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram and 32 other newspapers in Maine, objected to the tax change, but later accepted it in exchange for keeping state public notices in print newspapers, an important revenue stream for the industry,” the newspaper reported.

Taxes going up in Maine Tuesday – Portland Press Herald (10.1.2013)

Colorado City Considers Moving Some Public Notices out of Newspaper
The city of Steamboat Springs, Colo., Planning Department is considering updates to the public notice process used to alert residents to when there’s a project proposed in their neighborhood, according to a story in Steamboat Today.

The Planning Department’s proposal would utilize a city website to provide information about projects, with a shift away from notices printed in the local newspaper. Notices printed in the newspaper would be limited to those required by Colorado Revised Statutes Title 30, Article 23 and Title 31, Article 12, dropping the number of project types that require print notices from 19 to six. Agendas would continue to be published in the newspaper.

City of Steamboat Springs planner Toby Stauffer said that despite potential savings from scaling back print notices, there would be additional costs associated with the more Web-centric approach. “We think it might be sort of a wash,” she said about the net financial effect.

Concerns brought forward by the Planning Department staff will result in the Planning Commission revisiting changes at an Oct. 24 public hearing. (It should be noted that in Arkansas, certain public notices  regarding concentrated animal feeding operations have moved online, and are now tied up in court. See the September 2013 issue of of Record for details.)

City of Steamboat Springs Planning Department proposes public notice changes – Steamboat Pilot & Today, Steamboat Springs, Colo. (9.25.2013)
Our View: Promoting open government – Steamboat Pilot & Today, Steamboat Springs, Colo. (10.2.2013)
Code changes recommended by Steamboat Planning Commission to see another hearing – Steamboat Pilot & Today, Steamboat Springs, Colo. (10.7.2013)

Study Shows Half of Links in Supreme Court Opinions are Dead
A study by Harvard professor Jonathan Zittrain highlights the dangers of relying on internet links to actually work when you need them to.

Zittrain, who teaches not only at Harvard Law School but also at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and its School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, reports on his “The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It” blog that half of the links in US Supreme Court opinions no longer work, a phenomenon known as link rot. Worse, he says, as time passes, the number of non-working links increases.

This increasing link rot can result in a loss of what was once publicly-available information. As Zittrain told New York Times Supreme Correspondent Adam Liptak: “Things are readily accessible,” he said, “until they aren’t.”

Liptak also writes that a link in a 2011 Supreme Court opinion about violent video games, written by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., now leads to a 404 Error page which contains the following message from the page’s new owner: “Aren’t you glad you didn’t cite to this webpage in the Supreme Court Reporter? If you had, like Justice Alito did, the original content would long since have disappeared and someone else might have come along and purchased the domain in order to make a comment about the transience of linked information in the internet age.”

Scoping and Addressing the Problem of Link and Reference Rot in Legal Citations – Social Science Research Network (9.21.2013)
The Future of the Internet Blog – http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/futureoftheinternet/
In Supreme Court Opinions, Web Links to Nowhere – The New York Times (9.23.2013)
404 Error Message – http://ssnat.com

Alaska Paper Touts State Government’s Online Public Notice System
Alaska has revamped its government-run statewide “Online Public Notice System” (OPNS), and at least one newspaper in the state has provided what amounts to free advertising for the government.

A press release issued by Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell says “the OPNS now includes enhanced search capability, making it easier to find and share information.” An unbylined story in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner – which runs public notice ads in its classifieds section – contains a slightly rewritten version of the same claim: “the new Online Public Notice System allows the public to more easily search and share for public notices issued by the state.” The News-Miner’s online version even includes a helpful link to the OPNS, which can be found at http://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/.

Online Public Notice System Introduced – Press Release, Alaska Lt. Governor’s Office (9.16.2013)
State launches online notices – Fairbanks News-Miner (9.18.2013)

Michigan City to Hold Vote on Printed Public Notices
The Michigan Press Association is gearing up to keep public notices in newspapers. The City of Lodi intends to the put the question of posting public notices on their website rather than publishing in their local newspaper on their ballot in next month’s election. “While it might seem that this issue shouldn’t impact members statewide that is simply not true. If this effort is successful in Novi it will provide fuel for our opponents in Lansing to feed the fire to eliminate notice in newspaper altogether. Not many members can afford to see that happen, nor can the public who will suffer from the lack of due process and independence with regard to their property rights, tax dollars and government transparency,” MPA said in its Oct. 3 newsletter.

State Legislation

With only six states currently in session, there is not much new legislation to report. Eight states have already begun the prefiling process for their 2014 sessions. For a comprehensive list of important public notice bills, visit the PNRC website at:  https://www.pnrc.net/subscriber-resources/state-legislative-chart/ 

Articles & Editorials

Tablet magazines may look good, but San Francisco-based media company GigaOM says the tablet approach leads straight to magazine oblivion, at least for individual titles. GigaOM notes studies showing that while the average mobile user has 41 apps on his or her smartphone, the average user opens only eight a day – mostly Facebook, YouTube and games.
Why tablet magazines are a failure – GigaOM (10.6.2013)

Davison County (S.D.) commission chair John Claggett is pondering the cost of publishing the county’s new 21-page drainage ordinance in The Daily Republic and has suggested seeking less expensive publication methods due to the length of the ordinance. County Auditor Susan Kiepke said the topic is a non-issue: “South Dakota codified law, as it now stands, says you will publish an ordinance in its entirety,” she said.

The Daily Republic responded in an editorial, noting that “for a miniscule [sic] portion of its budget, the county is able to fully inform its constituents of its intentions and day-to-day operations, payouts, hirings and so forth, according to the state law that mandates it. In some cases, the legals even alert taxpayers of big troubles.”
Commissioners approve cop software (scroll to “Publishing costs”) – The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D. (9.3.2013)
Ink by the barrel: Legals need to be in print – The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D. (9.4.2013)

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has amended the city’s Administrative Code, which governs administration of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in the city and county of San Francisco, expanding public notice of CEQA decisions, although not in newspapers. Depending on the nature of the notice, the ordinance requires that the Planning Department implement an electronic notification system, authorizes electronic transmittal of certain other official notices and requires other notices to be posted at the project site in a manner that assures that posters are visible from the closest public street or other public space.
Key Amendments to the San Francisco Administrative Code Governing CEQA Procedures, Appeals and Public Notice Requirements Go Into Effect – Holland & Knight client alert (9.25.2013)

A letter to the editor alleges that residents of an apartment building in Great Neck, N.Y., did not receive adequate notice of a July public hearing to approve a hookah lounge. “A legal notice published in the Great Neck Record of April 26 gave notice of an earlier public hearing on May 7 for a permit … to use the premises at 435 Middleneck Road, Village of Great Neck, as a restaurant. No approval was granted for the restaurant. No mention was made in the legal notice for the May 7 hearing that the proposed use was for a Hookah lounge … which created a dangerous health problem to the patrons of the lounge and to the public through second hand smoke,” said the letter.
Readers Write: Notice lacking in hookah bar application – The Island Now, Williston Park, N.Y. (9.19.2013)

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September 2013

Featured Issues Regarding Public Notices

Arkansas Pig Lot Raises Stink with Legal, but Insufficient, Notice
Residents of Mt. Judea, Ark., were surprised to learn recently that their peaceful community is about to become host to a hog farm that will house up to 6,503 hogs. Residents of the town, through a coalition of environmental groups, say that while notices about the development of the C&H Hog Farm may have been legally sufficient, few in town knew about the approval processes.

“What really set me off was the fact that it was a done deal by the time we heard about it,” says Gordon Watkins a nearby farmer and president of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance, one of the groups in the coalition. “It had been done very quietly with no fanfare and even some neighbors of the property didn’t know about it until after the fact.” Watkins spoke with the Arkansas Times in Little Rock.

The environmental coalition has sued two federal agencies that backed the loan to build the facility, alleging that the Farm Services Agency and the Small Business Administration failed to do adequate environmental assessments and offer adequate public notice. The coalition has also been sharply critical of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) and the state permitting process that approved the facility, though it hasn’t sued the state so far, Times reporter David Ramsey said.

The notice for the federal agencies was published in an edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette not widely available in the affected area, though there is a local community newspaper in the area.  State law required the ADEQ notice only to be carried on the agency’s website, which it was. PNRC is monitoring the case for possible future action.

Hog farm near the Buffalo River stirs controversy – The Arkansas Times, Little Rock (8.15.2013)
Hutchinson: More Notice Needed On Hog Farm, Other Projects – Northwest Arkansas Online, Fayetteville, Ark., (9.7.2013)
Groups Go to Court to Protect Buffalo National River from Factory Hog Farm Waste – press release (8.6.2013)
A copy of the lawsuit is here

Virginia’s FOIA Advisory Council Declines to Redefine “Public Meeting”
Virginia’s Freedom of Information Advisory Council has denied a request by Hanover County to study redefining “public meeting” under FOIA.

The county Board of Supervisors had requested that the council weigh in on a July resolution by supervisors asking the Virginia General Assembly to change open government regulations to allow up to three Board members to meet in private to discuss county business without having to advertise it as a public meeting. Currently, no more than two local elected officials in Virginia can meet behind closed doors to discuss government affairs, with some exceptions.

The Virginia Press Association reported in its weekly newsletter that after a nearly 20-minute presentation by Del. Christopher K. Peace, R-Hanover, and Hanover County Attorney Sterling E. Rives III, there was no support on the council to move forward with the study of possible legislation to change the definition of a meeting.

Rives told the council that a public meeting is not the ideal setting to hold brainstorming sessions to discuss difficult situations.

“Right now, meetings of public bodies … which are open to the public, which are held in a formal setting, are not ideal opportunities for brainstorming because there is simply limited time available on public meeting agendas, and many issues to handle,” he said.

The Hanover Herald-Progress reported that county supervisor and Board chair W. Canova Peterson IV said the Council’s decision didn’t come as a surprise, adding he and the county will continue pushing for changing the state’s open meeting laws.

Hanover wants state agency to review Virginia’s open meeting rules – Richmond Times-Dispatch, (08.29.2013)
FOIA Council denies Hanover’s request to review open meeting laws – Hanover Herald-Progress (9.17.2013)

Newspapers Bring Public Notice to the Front Section
An August story by Baton Rouge Advocate reporter Jeff Adelson struck exactly the right chord with newspaper publishers in Louisiana and elsewhere: the newsroom reported on one of the public notices carried elsewhere in the newspaper.

The lead story in the August 21, 2013, edition of the newspaper highlighted the upcoming selection of committee members to the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority – East – and included a graphic of the public notice running on Page 9E of the same day’s newspaper.

PNRC has long urged newsrooms to cite and link to public notices when stories cover matters where public notice is required.  The links and cites permit members of the public to evaluate for themselves whether notice was adequate and also encourage better attention to newspaper public notices.

“The Advocate did what we all long for with public notice,” says Pamela Mitchell, executive director of the Louisiana Press Association in Baton Rouge. “What a day maker!”

Meanwhile, on September 11, the Journal-Times in Grayson, Ky., tied a public notice into a story on a request for an increase in water rates from the Rattlesnake Ridge Water District. “In a public notice published in today’s issue of the Journal-Times, the district outlined a proposed across-the-board rate increase of 29 percent for all customers,” wrote staff writer Joe Lewis.

And in Cape Girardeau, Mo., a story by Erin Ragan in the Southeast Missourian reports on a plan by the city to obtain a community development block grant for its planned business park. “A legal notice published in Wednesday’s Southeast Missourian indicated the city soon will request a release of grant funds from the Missouri Department of Economic Development,” Ragan wrote.

Tearsheets from the August 21 issue of the Advocate are available here.
Rattlesnake Ridge seeks 29% water rate increase – The Journal-Times, Grayson, Ky., (9.11.2013)
City applies for grant for business-park development – The Southeast Missourian, Cape Girardeau, Mo., (9.13.2013)

South Carolina Press Launches Best Public Notice Story Contest
Bill Rogers and the South Carolina Press Association (SCPA) are turning up the fire on newsrooms, urging reporters across the state not to overlook one of the best sources of news available: the public notices in their own newspapers. And he’s backing it up with cash for the best story developed from a public notice ad.

Rogers, executive director of the SCPA, says the idea for the new contest category and cash prize stems from a discussion at the National Newspaper Association, which is considering a similar national contest.

“If you aren’t reading your own legal ads for story leads, you are missing the boat,” Rogers says. “It doesn’t take long for an editor or reporter to scan the legals.”

SCPA does have an ulterior motive in starting this contest, Rogers says. “We think it will show legislators the importance of public notice advertising in newspapers, as demonstrated by published stories resulting from them. Each year we have to fight to keep public notice from moving to the Internet, which is a terrible idea on so many levels. The most basic one is that few will read online legal notices.”

State Press Associations’ Highlight Public Notice
The Hoosier State Press Association has launched an improved online clearinghouse of Indiana public notice advertisements. In an editorial, The Madison Courier notes that the publication of notices in newspapers and on their websites puts information about local, county and state government in places where people are likely to find it. The press association website is at www.indianapublicnotices.com.

Press association offers online site for public notice ads – The Madison Courier (8.30.2013)

The Ohio Newspaper Association will host a seminar on Ohio’s public notice laws on October 2 in Pickerington, Ohio. The program is a repeat of ONA’s popular 2012 program that will guide newspapers through all the changes and latest developments on Ohio’s public notice laws, report on pending litigation that could affect what newspapers qualify to publish notices, and explain what ONA members should do when they face new competition.

To register, visit the ONA website at http://www.ohionews.org/public-notices/publicnoticelawstraining/

The South Dakota Newspaper Association will celebrate its statewide “Public Notices Month” in October. A main thrust of the month will be to engage newspaper readers and others (legislators, local government leaders, etc.) about the importance of public notices in the newspaper, especially the role that public notices play in helping to inform the public and support good government at all levels. The observance will include materials that all member newspapers can use and ideas for marking the event locally.

Few Federal Agencies Prepared for Network Impact of Big Five IT Solutions
A new study by MeriTalk examines how the implementation of the Big Five – data center consolidation, mobility, security, big data, and cloud computing – will affect Federal agency networks. According to the report, Federal agencies plan to fully deploy the Big Five in the next two years but their networks aren’t prepared for the additional capacity or complexity, which will result in network bottlenecks. Just 12% of network managers say their agency is completely prepared for the infrastructure requirements of the Big Five. Network managers report that their agency will face security risks (70%), bandwidth limitations (54%), network latency (46%) and storage limitations (42%).

Few Federal Agencies Prepared for the Network Impact of the Big Five IT Solutions (9.9.2013)

State Legislation

With only six states currently in Session, there is not much new legislation to report.  However, five states (Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Montana and Tennessee) have already begun the prefiling process.  For a comprehensive list of important public notice bills, visit the PNRC website at:  https://www.pnrc.net/subscriber-resources/state-legislative-chart/ 

Fall assignment at Statehouse: Stay alert – Ohio Newspaper Association (9.6.2013)

Articles & Editorials

A traffic concurrency test for a mixed-use construction project has “passed” successfully, but the city has not provided adequate public notice of the test, the Kirkland (Wash.) Reporter says. In an editorial, the newspaper says there was no notice published in the Seattle Times, no notice posted on the property, no mailing to neighbors and no online updates through the community Listserv.
Public says ‘no’ to traffic from Path America’s Potala Village, Kirkland Aqua – Kirkland Reporter (8.27.2013)

Fernandina Beach, Fla., has repaid about $732,000 in water and sewer impact fees to developers, construction companies and others after the city’s attorney discovered that the city did not properly follow a state law that requires notifying the public of plans to increase the fees. A state law requires that plans for the increases, which began in 2009 and continued into this year, should have been published 90 days before the City Commission considered acting. The oversight was found as the city prepared to defend itself in an unrelated class action lawsuit.
Fernandina Beach refunds about $732k in impact fees after discovering public-notice snafu – The Florida Times Union, Jacksonville, Fla., (8.30.2013)

Changes to state legislation in Queensland, Australia, have given local governments more authority over how they conduct business, including enabling councils to change certain policies without publishing public notices in newspapers.
New law allows council changes without public notices – Fraser Coast Chronicle (9.6.2013)
Law change means council can change policy without notice – Bundaberg News-Mail (9.7.2013)

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August 2013

Featured Issues Regarding Public Notices

Sheriff Finds Newspaper Public Notice Reaches People Better Than Websites
A South Carolina sheriff tested whether a public notice printed in a newspaper or a public notice posted on a website received more views.  The result:  an overwhelming majority of people responded to the notice printed in the newspaper.  The story was highlighted in both the Illinois Press Association monthly publication PressLines and the Missouri Press Association monthly Bulletin.

Score one for newspapers – The Norfolk Daily News (8.7.2013)

UPDATE – Murfreesboro Plaintiffs Appealing to state Supreme Court
The Tennessee Supreme Court has been asked to review whether adequate public notice was given before approving plans for the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.  PNRC filed an amicus brief in the case.  A copy may be found at:  https://www.pnrc.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Amicus-Brief-filed-2-2-13.pdf

Tennessee Mosque Opponents Appealing to State Supreme Court – WKU Public Radio (7.30.2013)
County asks state Supreme Court to reject hearing for mosque case appeal – The Daily News Journal (8.12.2013)
Murfreesboro mosque court fight heats up again – The Tennessean (8.13.2013)

Despite Federal Initiative to Expand Access to Broadband, Studies Show that 28% of American Adults Still Do Not Use the Internet at Home
In 2009, the Obama administration invested in a $7 billion project to increase access to broadband.  However, experts say that not much has changed in the last four years.  This article highlights how the 60 million people who are not online have a major hurdle to cross, in terms of finding employment, access to government services, health care and education.  Further, it offers reasons why people are not online, often because of costs.

“Persistent digital inequality — caused by the inability to afford Internet service, lack of interest or a lack of computer literacy — is also deepening racial and economic disparities in the United States, experts say.”

Most of U.S. Is Wired, but Millions Aren’t Plugged In – New York Times (8.18.2013)

NTIA & Dept. of Commerce Report — A collaboration by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Economics and Statistics Administration, finds in this updated report that more than a quarter of American citizens still do not have Internet access at home.  The study offers a wide breadth of demographic information about Internet users.  Interestingly, the report compares the Internet to print media in terms of civic engagement.

“The Internet may be significantly more effective than television – and closer to traditional print media and radio – in encouraging civic engagement, particularly in light of the Internet’s emergence as a news medium. (p. 14)”

Exploring the Digital Nation: America’s Emerging Online Experience (May 2013)

Pew Research Center Report — A nationally representative survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project finds once again that age, education and household income are strong factors as to who may or may not have home broadband.  Based on a telephone survey earlier this year, the study found, similar to the study by the Department of Commerce & NTIA, that more than a quarter of Americans do not have Internet access at home.  However, the Pew study also concluded that twenty-percent of American citizens have neither broadband access nor a smartphone.

Home Broadband 2013 (8.26.2013)

Congressional Research Service Report — A report by the Congressional Research Service, the policy and legal analysts for Congress, seeks to provide a pro/con argument on how to close the “digital divide” while balancing the interests of the federal government and the private sector.  Of note, the report includes a table with percentage of households with broadband connections by state and a separate table with the percentage of households without broadband access by state, with a breakdown of rural versus non-rural areas.

Broadband Internet Access and the Digital Divide: Federal Assistance Programs (7.17.2013)

Cisco & ITU/UNESCO Report The importance of a national broadband plan for the United States in comparison to other nations around the world is the focus of this article and study.  The report by The Broadband Commission for Digital Development, finds that twenty countries have made Internet access a right – either a basic legal right, citizen’s right or constitutional right.

“The OECD notes that affordable access to basic communication services irrespective of income, location and physical ability have been considered a crucial component leading to greater social equality, leading “some to conclude that universal service or its components are a basic right”, as the inability to access or use a given telecommunication service could create social exclusion.”

National plan fosters broadband – The Hill (8.13.2013)
Planning for Progress – Why National Broadband Plans Matter (2013)

Federal Agencies Lack Confidence in Authenticity of Electronic Technology
As governments paper over the authenticity problems with web-based public notice, they speak from the other sides of their mouths when questioning electronic voting.

E-Voting: It May Be a While (8.13.2013)

International – UK Newspapers Win Fight to Keep Public Notices From Moving to a Government Website
Newspapers in the United Kingdom won an important victory defeating a move of public notices from newspapers onto a government website.  Using similar arguments of accountability and accessibility, the newspapers were able to prove the value of public notice in a newspaper.

“Meanwhile, in a debate at the House of Lords yesterday (Wednesday), Baroness Hanham argued against removing public notices from newspapers, claiming they were “vital for local transparency and accountability.”

She cited Newspaper Society research which found that the reach of local newspapers was significantly higher than the reach of council websites, with 67pc of people having read a paper within the last week compared to just nine per cent of people who had viewed the council website.

The study also found 7.1million adults in the UK had never accessed the internet at all, while 34pc had not been on the internet for over a year.

“There are quite a lot of people, therefore, who do not, would not and could not use the internet for these notices,” she said.

Plans to Take Alcohol Notices Out of Papers Dropped – HoldTheFrontPage.co.uk (7.18.2013)

State Legislation

For a comprehensive list of important public notice bills, visit the PNRC website at:  https://www.pnrc.net/subscriber-resources/state-legislative-chart/

2014 – Already two bills will be introduced in the 2014 Wyoming legislature that will limit newspaper notice and instead permit notice of government notice on a municipal or county website.
Committee moves forward with legal notice changes – The Sheridan Press (8.6.2013)
Proposed bills to push more legal notices online – Wyoming Tribune Eagle (8.18.2013)

New Jersey – AB 3035
Notice of self-storage lien procedures may now be sent via email, after AB 3035 was signed into law.  The measure has already taken effect.
New Jersey Governor Signs Updated Self Storage Lien Law With Benefits for Facility Operators (8.12.2013)

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July 2013

Featured Issues Regarding Public Notices

30% of Americans Do Not Use the Internet, Finds the Census Bureau
The Census Bureau issued updated demographic data about computer and Internet use in their most recent report, Computer and Internet Use In the United States, and found that 30 percent of Americans do not use the Internet, even though half of those people have a computer at home.  The breadth of statistical information in the report includes computer use delineated by age, race, sex, household income, and by state, among other factors.  The report also includes maps of connectivity by state, finding that twenty-one states had lower percentages of no connectivity than the national average of 15.9 percent.  The findings are based on a July 2011 supplemental to their Current Population Survey.
Computer and Internet Use in the United States – May 2013
Inter-nyet Report says three Arizonans in 10 have no Internet access – AZ Capitol Times (6.11.2013)

Government Agencies Unprepared to Recover Data if Disaster Strikes
A report by MeriTalk revealed that only 8% of Federal IT executives could recover 100% of their data in the event of a disaster.  Respondents revealed that they do not test systems as often as they should. Further, recovery and resilience problems are expected to worsen, especially coupled with shrinking federal budgets.  According to the report, by 2015 federal agencies expect a 39% growth in the amount of data that must be backed up and most agencies are simply not prepared to meet those storage needs.
New Report: Few Government Agencies Prepared to Recover their Data in the Event of a Natural or Man-Made Disaster (6.3.2013)

The Postal Service Knows Not Everyone Wants to Conduct Business Online
The United States Postal Service in a recent report acknowledged that many citizens, particularly in rural America, do not have access to the Internet and prefer not to use electronic resources to complete many government transactions, such as tax returns.  Further, the report acknowledges that access to broadband is insufficient in many parts of the country as well.
e-Government and the Postal Service – A Conduit to Help Government Meet Citizens’ Needs (1.7.2013)

Renters and the Foreclosure Crisis
Renters are disproportionately affected by foreclosures because most mortgages don’t provide for notice to tenants.  Although it is not certain how many tenants have been evicted without any prior public notice, newspaper notice provides at last some additional measure of transparency.
Report shows another casualty of foreclosure crisis: renters – Chicago Muckrakers (6.25.2013)

Newspaper Notice and the Federal Immigration Bill
Under the proposed immigration law that has now passed the Senate, employers must place an advertisement to hire non-immigrants for 30 days either on the website of the Secretary of Labor or with the workforce agency in the state where the job is located.  Then, the employer must recruit in three different places of their choosing.  Options include, but are not limited to, a newspaper, job fair, vocational training school, etc. as defined by the Secretary of Homeland Security. (Pages 1079 – 1081 of the bill version as passed by the Senate).
S 744 – Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act

Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act
Nevada has become the 8^th state to enact the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act after Governor Brian Sandoval signed SB 105 into law in late May.  California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Minnesota, North Dakota and Oregon have already enacted UELMA laws.

Court Permits Legal Notice Through Online Message Board
The British Columbia Supreme Court permitted service to 7 out of 18 individuals via private message on an online forum.  The court and lawyers acknowledged that this was a novel way to serve notice in the Internet age.  However, many have cited the numerous problems including how to ensure the notice is read and ensuring the person who is to be served is the actual recipient, not a large server.  So far, the administrators of the message boards have declined to reveal the identities of the individuals.
B.C. Supreme Court allows legal notice to be served online in Brian Burke defamation case – Globe and Mail (5.29.2013)

State Legislation
For a comprehensive list of important public notice bills, visit the PNRC website at:  https://www.pnrc.net/subscriber-resources/state-legislative-chart/

Connecticut – SB 902 & SB 1112 (DEAD)
Two proposals reducing the amount of information provided for municipal legal notices remained at the Committee level when the legislature adjourned.
Legal notice mandate could change – ReminderNews (5.13.2013)
Legal Notices Bill Stays Alive – CT New Junkie (5.31.2013)
Don’t weaken public notice requirements – Minuteman News Center (5.15.2013)
Panel calls to end legal notices in newspapers – Journal Inquirer (5.22.2013)

North Carolina – H 243 (Enacted into Law) & S 287 (Placed on Calendar 7/26/2013)
Self-storage law in North Carolina has been amended to now permit the notice of sale in a newspaper OR “in any other commercially reasonable manner.  The manner of advertisement shall be deemed commercially reasonable if at least three independent bidders attend the sale at the time and place advertised…”

Other threats to legal notice were averted.  S 287 would have permitted notice by cities and counties to be posted online.  The bill successfully passed the Senate in late April.  While in the General Assembly, Rep. Marilyn Avila offered an amendment that effectively replaced the entire bill and put notices back in newspapers and onto newspaper websites.  The language was similar to bills that recently passed in Florida and Tennessee.  The amendment passed the House, however the bill was not ratified before the legislature adjourned.
NC newspapers tout win over public notice bill – Businessweek (5.20.2013)
Two lawmakers do right thing in regard to public notices – Shelby Star (5.20.2013)

Michigan – HB 4298 (referred to second reading 6.13.2013)
A proposal has been introduced to remove newspaper publication of notices for delinquent taxes on property and allow notice to be posted on a website maintained by the County Treasurer.

Oregon – SB 28 (DEAD)
A bill that would have authorized public notice of criminal and civil forfeiture as well as intent to dispose of unclaimed property on an Internet site maintained by the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission.  The bill did not proceed past the Committee level before the legislature adjourned.

Articles & Editorials

Failure to publish a newspaper notice in Oklahoma may invalidate an election that has already cost the county $25,000.
Recent county tax vote could be invalid – Claremore Daily(5.16.2013)

Matt Walsh, Chair of the Florida Press Association, and a member of the board of directors of American Court and Commercial Newspapers, published an editorial outlining the public notice bills that came up before the Florida legislature, addressing the problems with the proposals, and thanking the policymakers for protecting public notices.
Preserving Public Notice & Floridians’ Right to Know – Sun Sentinel (6.4.2013)

In a collaborative effort, the Wyoming County Commissioners Association, Association of Municipalities and Press Association have agreed to work together to study existing public notice laws.
Wyoming lawmakers discuss changing legal notices laws – Star Tribune (5.30.2013)

Another case of hacking may have released social security and driver license information affecting upwards of a million people.
Washington Courts Announce Potential Massive Data Breach – KUOW (5.9.2013)

County law director recommends that elected officials give more notice before holding public meetings.
Knox law director urges more notice of meetings – Dyersburg State Gazette (6.8.2013)

Generic meeting notices are insufficient to providing public notice, wrote Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin.
R.I. public bodies now on notice to post complete agendas – Providence Journal (6.13.2013)

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May 2013

Featured Issues Regarding Public Notices

Legal Notice via Facebook?
As many states have faced legislative challenges to move public notices from newspapers to government websites, now it appears some want to move notices to the realm of social networking.

Texas has introduced legislation (HB 1989) that would allow legal service on parties in a lawsuit via a social media website (i.e., Facebook, MySpace, etc.) if the judge finds the defendant had sufficient contacts with that site.  The bill is currently in Committee and has not yet seen much action.

Further, courts in both Minnesota, Mpafe v. Mpafe (2011 – Minnesota County of Hennepin Fourth Judicial District Family Court Division), and more recently New York, F.T.C. v. PCCare247 Inc. (2013 – Southern District of New York,) have found that notice of a suit is permissible via e-mail, social media or another Internet website.  The Minnesota judge held that service by publication in a newspaper would not be the best method of service in this family law proceeding:

“The Rules of Civil Procedure permit service by publication.  While the Court considered publication in a legal newspaper, it is unlikely that Respondent would ever see this.  It is more likely that Respondent could receive notice on the internet.  The traditional way to get service by publication is antiquated and is prohibitively expensive.  Service is critical, and technology provides a cheaper and hopefully more effective way of finding Respondent.”

Legal notice via Facebook message – Minnesota Lawyer (4.26.2013)

Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission released a ruling permitting companies to communicate with investors via Facebook and Twitter so long as they disclose which outlet they will use.

SEC Says Companies Can Use Social Media to Alert Investors – Wall Street Journal (4.2.2013)

Although there have been no major efforts to move public notices from newspapers to social networking sites yet, with some discussion and action in the legislative, judicial and federal administrative agencies, it seems likely we may see some movement in this direction in the future.

For more information on this subject, the Spring 2012 Reynolds Courts & Media Law Journal offers an informative article by John G. Browning, “Your Facebook Status Served”:  Service of Process Using Social Networking Sites.  The law review article details the success and failures of allowing service via social media in countries that have already implemented and the due process implications inherent in this form of notice.

State Legislation
For a comprehensive list of important public notice bills, visit the PNRC website at:  https://www.pnrc.net/subscriber-resources/state-legislative-chart/

California – AB 642 (DEAD, Hearing cancelled at request of author – 5.7.2013)
A bill promoted by AOL’s Patch that would permit a newspaper that is available on a web site to qualify as a newspaper of general circulation for the purpose of publishing public notices has been defeated.

Organized Labor Joins Newspaper Opposition To Online Public Notice Bill – Los Cerritos News (4.11.2013)

Connecticut – SB 902 (Moved to Foot of the Calendar, Senate – 5.14.2013)
A proposal has been introduced to allow a brief summary of the matter being noticed and a reference to the appropriate Government website instead of requiring a legal notice from a town, city or borough to be published in a newspaper.  Additionally, the bill would allow daily and free newspapers to publish notices.

Where Do You Read Ledyard’s Public Notices? – Leadyard Patch (5.8.2013)
Limiting public access isn’t good public policy – Norwich Bulletin (4.22.2013)
Keep public notices in newspapers – Courant (5.3.2013)

Michigan – SB 8 (Headed to House floor, PASSED House Committee, PASSED Senate – 5.9.2013)
Legislation to revise the definition of a newspaper to include an online version only if a print copy does not exist unanimously passed the House Local Government Committee and now heads to the floor for a full vote by the House.  The Senate has already approved the proposal

The bill specifically requires the Internet website to be an online version of a previous newspaper and requires the retention of a printed copy for archival and verification purposes. This bill is supported by the press association.

Nevada – AB 4 & AB 267 (DEAD, Failed to make an April 12 Deadline)
AB 4 – A bill to reduce the amount of newspaper public notice has been defeated.

AB 267 – A bill that would allow for online notice on a website controlled by a newspaper or a broadcaster in lieu of notice published in a newspaper has been defeated.

North Carolina –SB 287 (Re-Referred to Committee; PASSED Senate – 5.15.2013); SB 186 (Referred to Committee – 3.6.2013)
SB 287 – A broad based bill to allow notice on a government site instead of published notice in a newspaper.  The bill has already passed the Senate.

SB 186 – Proposal that would allow notices by counties and cities to be posted online on a government website instead of in a newspaper.

These bills sparked a great deal of controversy within the state as North Carolina Press Association fought to point out serious flaws in the bills.

Public notice bill passes Senate – Sun Journal (4.24.2013)
Public notice change gets OK from Senate – Richmond County Daily Journal (4.23.2013)
Public notice bill moves foward – The Laurinburg Exchange (4.23.2013)
NC Senate gives initial OK on legal notice options – The Associated Press (4.23.2013)
NC Senate ok’s bill to allow online public notice – News Record (4.24.2013)

Additionally, here is a sampling of editorials from North Carolina about the importance of public notices in newspapers:

Public notices for everyone, not just those online – Star News Online (4.12.2013)
Keep public notices public – The Sampson Independent (4.17.2013)
Public notice bills threaten people’s right to know – News of Orange (4.17.2013)
Legislature must not scrap public notices – Hickory Daily Record (4.19.2013)
City declines to support public notice bill – Mount Airy News (4.20.2013)

South Carolina – H 3563 & S 513 (Language to Eliminate Newspaper Notice Removed – 4.25.2013)
The storage association agreed to remove language in the proposed legislation that would have eliminated publication in a newspaper for self-storage notices.

Texas – HB 335 (Committee Report Sent to Calendars – 5.3.2013)
Allows a political subdivision to post legal notices on its own website.

Proposed public notice bill threat to government transparency – Your Houston News (4.25.2013)

Articles & Editorials

Municipal notices in Canada received a makeover to make them easier to read and encourage people to get involved in their local government.
New, easier-to-read look for Courtenay’s public notices – Comox Valley Echo (4.9.2013)

Articles that direct attention to the public notices in your newspaper are a great way to inform the public.
Public notices highlight insurance companies’ financial condition – Rapid City Journal (5.7.2013)

Two editorials from Florida on the importance of public notice:
Keep public notice in print, online – The Ledger (4.9.2013)
Preserve public notice and our property rights – Tallahassee Democrat (4.5.2013)

An attempt by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in their budget proposal to remove notices announcing the sale of state owned timber from the newspaper was recently defeated.  Here is an excellent editorial explaining why this proposal was bad public policy.
Public notices for timber sales should stay in DNR’s budget – Vernon Broadcaster (5.8.2013)

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April 2013

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