You have the right to know what's happening in your community.
A new marketing campaign being rolled out by America's Newspapers highlights the need to protect public notices in newspapers and readers' right to know.
Newspapers can download this series of print and social media ads at no cost. The print ads include space for the name or logo of the newspaper publishing them.
The ads, produced in partnership with Sandpaper Marketing, call on readers to let their state legislators know that they value being able to access notices in the newspaper and that they are worth the investment.
If you have any difficulty accessing the files, email Greg Watson at America's Newspapers.
Yes, I want to access the print and digital ads from America's Newspapers!
Download a two-page PDF from the Public Notice Resource Center: "Why Public Notice Should Remain in Newspapers"
June 10, 2021 - Legislation before the Rhode Island General Assembly would take a swipe at both newspapers and transparency in government — two things that are intrinsically linked. House Bill 6375 and Senate Bill 916 seek to override any state laws that require municipal governments to post notices in print newspapers.
Now legislation would wipe out the entire practice and override nearly 200 state statutes. Replacing the thousands of notices currently posted in the state’s newspapers would be a digital clearinghouse on the Rhode Island Secretary of State’s website.
June 3, 2021 - Leave it to the Legislature to introduce a “transparency” bill that actually makes it easier for board members of special taxing districts to keep the public in the dark. Indeed a better name for Senate Bill 21-262, the “Special District Transparency” bill, would be the “Obfuscation Opportunity” bill.
March 26, 2021 - Last week, many newspapers wrapped up coverage of Sunshine Week, a time set aside to promote government accountability through public records and public meetings. In North Carolina, the idea of sunshine has been more aspirational than reality-based. Now though, there is greater cause for celebration than we have seen in a long time, thanks to the introduction on Thursday of Senate Bill 355 — The Government Transparency Act of 2021.
May 25, 2021 - The California News Publishers Association and Column, a public benefit software startup, have announced a long-term strategic partnership designed to transform the future of public notice for the most populous state in the country. In partnership with Column, CNPA members will have access to public notice software that they can deploy to streamline internal operations and deliver a powerful new customer experience for local governments, legal services and businesses that are required to place notices.
April 7, 2021 - “As HSPA prepares potential legislation for the 2022 session,” says Executive Director Steve Key of the Hoosier State Press Association, “we hope to convince the leadership that public policy should continue to embrace the four key elements of effective public notice — accessibility, verification, archivability, and an independent conduit for the distribution of those notices to the public.”
April 7, 2021 - Legislators in Texas have introduced at least 20 separate bills this session that could have an impact on public notice. Fourteen were introduced last month alone.
April 7, 2021 - Newspaper publishers from across the country are watching the moves taking place in the Florida legislature. The Public Notice Resource Center reports that one of the primary concerns to be addressed during a hearing scheduled for Thursday, April 8, concerns the type of free newspapers that may qualify to carry notices. This hearing on SB 402 is scheduled in Florida's Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice.
March 18, 2021 - The Florida House on Thursday passed a bill that would strip the state’s newspapers of legal advertising revenue.
March 15, 2021 - The citizens of Wyoming were the beneficiaries one week ago when the Wyoming Senate rejected a bill that would have limited government transparency. By a 20-9 vote, Senate File 17, a bill brought by Sen. Tara Nethercott (R-Cheyenne), would have allowed cities, towns, counties and school districts to only place public notice information on their own websites.
March 12, 2021 - An editorial in the Citrus County Chronicle says that Florida House Bill 35, a repeat of last year’s unsuccessful measure, calls for eliminating the requirement for local governments to place public notices in newspapers in favor of local governments assuming that role with their websites.
Feb. 10, 2021 - A bill regarding public notices by Rep. Jon Weber, R-Rexburg, has failed to pass the House in Idaho. The bill would have ended the requirement that public notices be published in newspapers. After debate, the House voted 38-33 against the bill.
Feb. 2, 2021 - The House Government and Regulatory Reform Committee in Indiana voted 10-3 to eliminate mandatory newspaper publication of all public notices in favor of requiring localities to post notices on their website or their county's website.
Feb. 1, 2021 - The North Dakota House of Representatives rejected a bill on Monday, Feb. 1, that would have eliminated the requirement for county or city governments to publish their bills and payments in local newspapers.
