• by Ray Schultz , Yesterday

A Pennsylvania bill would require that public notices still be advertised in print newspapers, but that digital alternatives be used when necessary.  

HB 1291, updating the state’s Newspaper Advertising Act, was recently introduced by State Rep. Robert Freeman (D). 

“My legislation would require that public notices continue to be published in print newspapers of general circulation, but if such a newspaper does not exist, the notice could be published in a digital newspaper of general circulation,” wrote Rep. Robert Freeman (D) prior to introducing the bill in February.  

Freeman added that print and free newspapers “would also have to maintain a website and post public notices online contemporaneously and in front of a paywall. Newspapers would also be required to post public notices on the statewide publicly accessible website maintained by the Pennsylvania News Media Association.”

Legacy newspapers would seem to benefit because the bill recognizes their continuing role. Print publishers have been fighting to maintain the revenue stream they get from public notices and their long-term monopoly in this area. 

The Pennsylvania bill seems to loosen this grip, although digit publishers aren’t necessarily happy. While the bill “introduces provisions for digital publications, its structure could prevent newer, digital-only news outlets from participating in the public notice process, even in the communities they serve,” Berks Weekly writes. 

Similar bills have been introduced in several other states. For instance, a proposed North Dakota law, SB 2069, would allow public notices to be publish online, specifying that a notice filed with the secretary of state “fulfills publication requirements if a newspaper fails to publish the notice required by law.”