PNRC is presently tracking about 60 different public notice bills introduced in 22 states so far in 2021. (We categorize all legislation that has any impact on public notice laws — even a minor impact — as public notice bills.)

Legislators in ten of those states have introduced bills that would move all or a significant percentage of notice from newspapers to government websites.

[See 2021 public notice legislation map]

Those numbers aren’t particularly unusual. They’re similar to figures we’ve seen in previous years at the beginning of legislative sessions. Nevertheless, the public notice wars feel more fraught this year than they have in the past, due primarily to budget shortfalls resulting from the pandemic and increased partisan rancor. Whether that elevated level of concern is warranted remains to be seen.

What has been different so far this year is an uptick in the number of bills that would give the force of law to notices published on newspaper websites.

Legislation introduced in four states would require newspapers that qualify to run notices in print to also post the notices at no additional cost on their own websites and/or their press association’s statewide public notice site. Press groups in three of those states (Missouri, South Dakota and Wisconsin) back the effort. The Michigan Press Association also plans to support the introduction of a web-posting bill later this session. Statutes requiring notices to be published on newspaper websites are already the law in 14 states.

Meanwhile, seven different bills in three states (New York, Maryland and Connecticut) would authorize local government units to post original notice on newspaper websites and/or other local news websites in lieu of newspaper publication. These bills aren’t unprecedented — similar bills were introduced in smaller numbers in previous sessions — and they appear to have little chance of passing. But it’s a trend that bears watching.

Here’s a brief summary of public notice legislation in four crucial states.

Connecticut
Two bills have been introduced in the House and one in the Senate that would authorize municipalities to post notices on their own websites in lieu of publication in newspapers. A hearing is scheduled tomorrow on the Senate bill. The bills dropped about nine months after Governor Ned Lamont issued an executive order suspending the state’s public notice laws to allow notices “to be published electronically on a municipality’s or agency’s website”. The emergency order may have been the direct result of a newspaper in Glastonbury temporarily closing in March as a result of the pandemic. It’s unclear which agencies or municipalities other than Glastonbury have taken advantage of the order, which is still in effect.

Florida
For the third straight year, newspapers in the Sunshine State are gearing up to oppose legislation sponsored by Rep. Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay), whose H35 would move all government and private notice to “publicly accessible websites and government access channels.” Fine’s bill, which is being fast-tracked, is scheduled for a committee hearing tomorrow. Another bill that would move judicial notices from newspapers to a state Supreme Court website appears to have stalled, at least for the time being. At the beginning of a hearing last week on SB402, the committee chair said he was “temporarily postponing” the bill, although he did not elaborate, according to the Florida Press Association.

Missouri
The Missouri Press Association is backing SB325, which requires notices published in newspapers to be posted for free on the MPA statewide website. The bill also limits the rates newspapers can charge for “second and successive insertions”. MPA additionally supports bills reducing public notice eligibility requirements for newspapers, and condensing county financial statements required to be published annually in newspapers in smaller counties. With its support for these bills, MPA hopes to forestall two other pieces of legislation that could eliminate abandoned-property notices, as well as another that would require the state to build an electronic notice website to replace newspaper notice.

South Dakota
A bill supported by the South Dakota Newspaper Association passed through a committee last month on an 8-5 vote and is expected to reach the House floor as early as this week. In addition to requiring newspapers to post their notices on their own websites or SDNA’s statewide public notice site, HB1050 raises fees for public notice ads and establishes a mechanism to automatically increase rates each year. The bill also increases minimum type size and sets minimum leading for public notice ads.