The Winona County Board of Commissioners supports two bills are headed through the Minnesota Legislature this session that would give counties the option to post their public notices on the county’s website rather than in the local newspaper, edging out a practice that dates to colonial times.

On Tuesday, the Winona County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution in support of the two bills. The resolution was suggested and written by the Association of Minnesota Counties. The county board approved it unanimously and unchanged without discussion. County board member Greg Olson wasn’t in attendance.

The two bills, HF 1286 and SF 1152, allow counties to have the option to publicize “projects, proceedings, official notices, and summaries” on their websites “in place of or in addition to” printing them in newspapers. But if the counties decide to change to only online — they’d have to publish that change in the newspaper.

Minnesota Newspaper Association Attorney Mark Anfinson said similar bills have been introduced to the Legislature and have failed.

“And the reason it failed is because it’s not a good idea,” Anfinson said. “Dramatically fewer people would see (public notices) if they were on a county website. You bury them on a government website, people just don’t go find them.”

The resolution approved by the board refers to limited resources and the need for counties to save money by being relieved of the “costly burden of publishing in newspapers” and empowering them to find the most efficient method for communicating with citizens as reasons for the change.

It also claims that “county websites are increasingly the first place citizens look for information about their counties.”

The Minnesota Newspaper Association disagrees.

Newspapers are where people expect to find information about their local government, according to a statement released by MNA, citing the findings of a poll taken by the Minnesota Senate, the public “overwhelmingly” said community newspapers were their primary source for government and political information. And in a 2013 Scarborough readership study, 78 percent of Minnesotans polled said they believe it is an important requirement to keep citizens informed by publishing public notices in newspapers.

Publishing in a newspaper costs local governments very little compared with their total budget, MNA stated. No longer publishing notices in the local newspaper would limit their availability to people without internet access and there’s no guarantee the county’s website would be reliable or secure.

Winona County Administrator Duane Hebert said the county hasn’t discussed whether it would go strictly online if the two bills pass.

Winona County Commissioner Jim Pomeroy said he doesn’t intend to push for the county to use its website instead of a newspaper. Other commissioners weren’t available for comment Tuesday afternoon.

“What it provides for is an option,” Pomeroy said, adding that more options are better for everyone. “Just the opportunity. It’s something that a lot of counties have been requesting, apparently. I don’t think there’s anything to say that we would actually do that.”

Anfinson said he understands the argument that having more options is better. Unfortunately, he said, “It would be chosen too often.”