Our original headline for this story was “Newspaper notice off to good start in 2022.” But late last night we learned that Florida — a state that last year passed a progressive bill paving the way for the eventual migration of statutory notice to newspaper websites — was in play once again.
We haven’t had time to digest the 40-page bill, but it’s clearly designed to undo the work that went into last year’s historic legislation by moving public notice to government websites. The committee bill passed out of the Judiciary Committee this morning with GOP backing on a straight party-line vote.
Indiana courts consider website-only notice
The Hoosier State Press Association (HSPA) thought it had a year to design the future of public notice. That turned out not to be the case.
The latest encroachment on HSPA’s turf came from the Indiana Supreme Court, which recently proposed amending the state’s rules of trial procedure to allow court notices to be posted on something called the Indiana Court Legal Notice Website in lieu of newspaper publication. According to HSPA Executive Director Steve Key, the rule would encompass notices mandated in connection with foreclosure sales, estate administration, lawsuit summons and name changes. Key said his understanding is the website notices would be free of charge to the individuals required to publish them.
In Indiana, future of notice arrives earlier than expected
By the time Indiana’s 2020 legislative session had ended, the Hoosier State Press Association promised leadership in both chambers it would begin working on a proposal outlining what notice in the state might look like in a future in which print newspapers were no longer its primary vehicle. Like other state press groups, HSPA would prefer to keep public notice in newspapers, where they belong. But the newspaper group was bowing to reality, according to Executive Director Steve Key. After mostly holding off 91 bad public notice bills in the past 21 legislative sessions, even erstwhile supporters in the legislature were telling Key it was time to look to the future.
Hoosier State Press Association inaugural public notice summit rallies publishers
A close call during this year’s legislative session put the fear of god into newspaper industry leaders in Indiana. The Hoosier State Press Association responded by convening a Public Notice Summit, which was held Sept. 13 during the association’s annual conference and advertising awards gala.
“We had a big scare in our last session,” said HSPA Executive Director Steve Key, referring to a bill that was introduced in the state House that would have eliminated foreclosure notices in Indiana newspapers. “The bill got a hearing but died in a Senate committee.”
Poor Customer Service Sabotages Newspaper Notice
When the Air Quality Division of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) announced a proposal last year to move all of its public notice advertising from newspapers to its own website, its motivation for doing so was clear: Bureaucratic efficiency.
“(IDEM’s) proposal never even bothers to claim e-notice will reach more Indiana citizens,” PNRC noted in the comments we filed opposing the plan. “It focuses instead on cost, convenience and expedience. Those are all worthy goals. Unfortunately, none are the primary purpose of public notice laws.”