The Senate Community Affairs Committee on March 31 declined to move a bill by State Sen. Ronda Storms to allow local governments to replace the printed notice with an Internet notice and direct mail citizens who signed up to receive notices. According to the Tampa Tribune, Storms said she had no idea how much the shift in practice would cost but noted that cities and counties “loved it.” But a strong coalition that included newspapers and community groups argued that shifting notices to obscure government websites would bar access for many citizens and defeat the purposes of public notice. Interestingly, Storms seems to have joined a string of state legislators lately who have been trying to advance anti-notice bills simply because they do not like newspapers.
Some coverage of the bill action: