Many references to public notices moving to government websites, say it is the fox watching the henhouse. Here is a fresh take — letting pitchers call their own balls
and strikes.
No pitchers call their own strikes; public notices require the same independence | Opinion:
Mar. 15, 2026 Sharon Sorg
Life is hectic. Keeping track of work, home and family commitments is challenging enough. Now imagine adding another task to your daily routine: checking multiple government websites just to find out what your local and state officials are planning to do.
You would have to monitor the websites of your school board, township supervisors, borough council, sewer authority, zoning hearing board, county commissioners and other government bodies that make decisions affecting your daily life.
That could become reality if lawmakers weaken Pennsylvania’s public notice law by allowing public notices to move from newspapers, trusted independent third parties, to government-run websites.
Some local officials favor bypassing newspapers in the public notice process. But allowing government agencies to control how the public is notified about their own actions is like letting pitchers call their own balls and strikes. They have a vested interest in the outcome of the decisions they make.
Their interest may not always align with what taxpayers and the public need to stay informed and participate in government.
Pennsylvania’s newspapers agree the public notice system should be modernized. The state’s 50-year-old Newspaper Advertising Act requires notices to appear only in printed newspapers. Today’s newspapers bridge the digital divide and deliver information both in print and online, reaching more readers than ever before.
That is why newspapers support Pennsylvania House Bill 1291, which modernizes the public notice system while preserving independent oversight.
Under House Bill 1291, public notices would continue to appear in printed newspapers and would also be posted on newspaper websites, where they would be free to access and easy to find.
The bill allows notices to be posted online or in free newspapers in communities where a traditional print newspaper no longer exists. It also requires newspapers to post notices on a centralized statewide website (publicnoticepa.com), allowing Pennsylvanians to review notices from across the commonwealth in one place.
Public notice laws are rooted in fundamental principles of open government and due process. Before government takes action, the public must have the opportunity to know about it and respond.
Newspapers are not involved in the decision-making process. Their role is simply to inform the public and create an independent, verifiable record of government action.
Sharon Sorg is executive vice president of newspaper operations at Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. (CNHI) and chairwoman of the Pennsylvania News Association Board of Directors.
https://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2026/03/no-pitchers-call-their-own-strikes-public-notices-require-the-same-independence-opinion.html
What is the percentage of your local government’s budget spend on public notices?
The high cost of being cheap.
Mar 16, 2026
The Iowa Legislature is at it again, trying to eliminate publication of legal notices in newspapers. And it will cost Iowa’s citizens way more money than it saves.
Republican sponsors say it will save money for cities and counties, but as editor Art Cullen noted in his editorial last week, scrapping public notices will keep Iowans in the dark about the public’s business.
Legal notices are the minutes of city council and board of supervisors’ meetings, the bills that they pay, the people that they hire and other official actions they take. They are the notices that alert you if a hog buying station is going in next to your home or a pipeline is going under your property. They inform you about what is in the government’s budget for the next year, and what your tax rate will be. They are set in small type but contain big news. That’s why they have been required for publication in newspapers since the earliest days of our nation.
For all their importance, legal notice costs in Iowa newspapers are minuscule. For example, the City of Storm Lake, with a budget of $77.7 million last year and an ending fund balance of $20.4 million in the bank, paid just $13,431 to the Times Pilot to inform taxpayers how their money was spent. That expense is a mere 0.000173 percent of Storm Lake’s total budget. We know this because the city was required to publish its budget in the May 9, 2025, Times Pilot.
The price for legal notices is set by the state each year and, in the case of the Times Pilot, represents a discount of about 25 percent off our normal advertising rate.
That not only covers publication in the print edition of the Times Pilot, but also online on www.stormlake.com and on www.iowapublicnotices.com, which includes every legal notice in the state. This newspaper also provides printed notarized copies as proof of publications.
Publishing legal notices online would likely cost more than having newspapers do it. The City of Storm Lake and Buena Vista County do not presently publish their notices online, so they would have to devote an employee to that task. A government employee would have to devote at least a fourth of their time managing legals. For the typical clerk in city hall or courthouse, that would likely represent an annual expense of more than $20,000 when salary, employment taxes, insurance, IPERS and other benefits are factored. Additional website expenses would also probably be incurred to provide a searchable database and other necessary features.
Legal notices are already free to read on our local and state websites, and people can visit our office to look at printed copies for free. We maintain all public notices for Buena Vista County and the City of Storm Lake going back 156 years, predating Storm Lake’s founding by three years. Neither the city nor the county can provide easy access to records from even a year or two ago, while newspapers can retrieve records dating back decades in a few minutes.
If you go to a government office, you will probably be charged to look at your public records. All of Iowa’s court documents are now filed exclusively online, so we have to pay $300 per year to access these public records. When we asked to look at Storm Lake’s legal bills in the city’s TIF multi-million-dollar lawsuit against Buena Vista County, we were told by the city we would have to pay $500.
If Storm Lake and Buena Vista County taxpayers had been better informed by their governments through adequate legal notice publications, we may have avoided the multi-million-dollar lawsuit over lost tax revenues they are now wrangling over in court. Legal notices are well-read, and a sharp-eyed farmer or business owner, relaxing in their easy chair at night perusing the legal notices in the paper, might well have caught the TIF misappropriations that escaped the eyes of city and county officials — and their outside auditors — for years.
There would be additional costs to killing off legal notices. A third of Iowa’s newspapers might be put out of business because the few thousand dollars they receive from the government are in many towns the difference between profit and loss. Small towns would lose another business that pays taxes and employs people who pay taxes. That lost tax revenue would easily offset any savings from killing legal notices.
In the past year, area papers in Schaller and Aurelia and four more in nearby Clay and O’Brien counties closed. Another closed newspaper is another empty storefront on a rural main street full of empty banks, implement dealers, cafes, farm supply stores and schools. Our legislature doles out multi-year multi-million dollar tax breaks to Apple and Google and Microsoft for sprawling data centers in Des Moines that employ almost no one, while starving small town newspapers over a few thousand dollars.
And there would be fewer nosy reporters informing taxpayers about what’s going on at city hall and the courthouse.
So, the Legislature’s quest to save money on legal notices will actually increase costs. And reduce public access to the public’s business.
If you think publication of legal notices in newspapers is important to a democracy, let our legislators know that you are opposed to Senate File 2434.
John Cullen is president of the Storm Lake Times Pilot.
https://www.messengernews.net/opinion/local-columns/2026/03/the-high-cost-of-being-cheap/
Editor’s Notes: Sunshine Week and accountability
Mar 21, 2026, Christina Myer – Editor
(Photo Illustration – MetroCreativeConnection – Editor’s Notes by Christina Myer)
Saturday wraps up Sunshine Week 2026, a nation-wide effort to raise awareness about open government challenges — to push for “sunlight” as opposed to darkness when it comes to our governments’ operations.
I’ll admit, I used to think Sunshine Week fell during this part of March because of the vernal equinox signaling a return to more real sunshine. It turns out, it is meant to fall around James Madison’s birthday (March 16) because of his efforts on the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment is a big one, after all.
During Sunshine Week, reporters and ordinary citizens are encouraged to learn more about Freedom of Information Act requests — not just the proper procedure, but how to write one effectively and how to fight to have one fulfilled. We are also encouraged to keep an eye on efforts to price citizens out of being able to file a FOIA request because fees have become prohibitive.
Public records laws are essential. So are laws that require publication of public notices in newspapers, rather than allow for government foxes to guard their own hen houses by keeping those notices obscured on state-run websites.
Sunshine Week also reminds us to be vigilant against efforts to chip away at requirements to keep some measure of transparency in government.
Elimination of the requirement to publish ANY legally mandated public notice in newspapers drastically reduces the number of residents who have access to that information. Even baby steps must be prevented to keep a veil from being drawn entirely over government operations.
Sunshine Week is an important opportunity for elected officials to remember that pulling public notices from newspapers virtually guarantees that information will no longer be available to thousands of rural, poor and older residents.
Rather than forcing a person to know what they are looking for and search it out on a government-run website (again, assuming they have the access and ability to do so to begin with), public notices printed regularly in newspapers arrive for readers every day.
Included in those newspapers is often also coverage of local meetings, hearings, town halls and other public events from which our reporters can report the information you need. Efforts to change public and news media access and other open government laws must be guarded against, too.
When organizers started Sunshine Week back in 2002, it was a response to governments pretending they needed to be more opaque after the horrific events of Sept. 11, 2001.
“Suddenly, we’re seeing government secrecy at an all-time high,” said Tim Franklin, who at the time was an editor at the Orlando Sentinel. “It was becoming an issue that was unchecked because anytime it was questioned, the response was “it’s a matter of national security.’”
Thank goodness Florida’s First Amendment Foundation and its partners decided at the time that was nonsense and launched Sunshine Week to help the rest of us support one another.
Don’t get me wrong, here we have some very good public officials who understand the newspapers’ (and their constituents’) rights and needs for as much information about government operation as possible. We are certainly grateful for those who get it.
But there are always, everywhere, elected officials and bureaucrats who believe the government operates best in the shadows; and never stop looking for ways to blot out the sun.
Sunshine Week 2026 may be wrapping up. But we can’t stop looking for ways to let the sun back in, either.
Christina Myer is executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. She can be reached via e-mail at cmyer@newsandsentinel.com.
https://www.newsandsentinel.com/opinion/local-columns/2026/03/editors-notes-sunshine-week-and-accountability/
Recognizing when proper notice has not been given.
Pawnee Nation Cancels Secretarial Election to Ensure Proper Notice and Legal Compliance
by Levi Rickert and Staff March 23, 2026
The Pawnee Business Council has announced the cancellation of a previously scheduled Secretarial Election on proposed constitutional amendments, citing the need to ensure proper notice and compliance with tribal law.
In an update to voters, the Council said the election, originally planned for March 2026, was called off to guarantee that all members of the Pawnee Nation receive clear information about the procedures governing the vote. Leaders emphasized that the decision was made to uphold the integrity of the process and ensure it aligns fully with the Nation’s legal requirements.
The cancellation follows weeks of confusion involving the roles of the Pawnee Nation Election Board and the Bureau of Indian Affairs in administering the federal Secretarial Election. At issue were questions about how the election should be conducted at the tribal level and what steps were necessary to properly notify eligible voters.
On March 13, 2026, tribal officials received formal clarification that Secretarial Elections must be carried out in accordance with the Nation’s own laws. The guidance followed a March 12 correspondence from the Department concurring with the withdrawal of a prior petition for the election and encouraging the Nation to proceed within the framework of its governing document.
In light of that clarification, the Council said cancelling the election was necessary to ensure fairness and transparency, particularly in providing adequate notice to all eligible voters.
The Pawnee Business Council said it remains committed to working with the Election Board to reschedule the vote on the proposed constitutional amendments as soon as possible. Officials said their goal is to move forward in a way that is orderly, lawful, and respectful of the rights of Pawnee Nation citizens.
Updated information on revised procedures and a new timeline will be shared with tribal members once those details are finalized.
https://nativenewsonline.net/sovereignty/pawnee-nation-cancels-secretarial-election-to-ensure-proper-notice-and-legal-compliance/
Language matters when legislators propose change to Public Notice
Assault on public notices comes in many forms and in small words. As PNRC tracks legislation across the country, we have noted language that makes its way into these bills. Highlights from states include the following words and phrases that are used to erode the intent of public notices.
First is the little word “or” in these two examples:
a. once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a regular newspaper published in the county or municipality in which such agency or governing authority is located * * *.; or
b. by publication on a publicly accessible website for a continuous period of not less than two (2) consecutive weeks in accordance with item 2. of this subparagraph (i).
and “publish” means dissemination in the print edition of a qualified newspaper, and in the e-edition of the qualified newspaper if applicable, or publication on a political subdivision’s website. effective date. this section is effective the day following final enactment.
Then the use of “in lieu of” can start down a slippery slope of notices on government websites:
Adds to existing law to establish provisions allowing certain governmental entities to publish abbreviated public notices in newspapers in lieu of full public notices.
If local government is given a menu to choose from the “at least one” will likely default to their website:
The board shall publish notice of the public hearings, including the time, date, and place, once a week for two weeks immediately preceding the hearings using at least one of the following methods:
(1) in the print or digital edition of a newspaper of general circulation in the township;
(2) on the official public notice web site established under section xxx of the revised code;
“May be satisfied” and “either” leaves a lot of room for interpretation:
The requirement to publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation may be satisfied by a local government publishing the required notice electronically online, either by the local government or a third party.
The ongoing argument that newspapers should print notices distributed to the news media and made available on the government bodies website will suffice as public notice:
notice shall also be distributed to the news media maintaining a press office to cover the state house complex, and made available for public viewing through publication on the agency’s internet website and second example, prior to such public hearing, the director shall (cause public notice of such hearing to be made in) provide information of the public hearing and written comment period to newspapers of general circulation in this state.
These examples remind us of the importance of words and nuances that can completely change the way all levels of government support transparency or hide in the dark. The three-legged stool of transparency continues to be under assault and why community newspapers continue a vital role as the watchdogs and why democracy needs journalism. When these words creep into legislation, we can ask legislators, “What Do You Have to Hide?
NEW YORK
A00238 – Authorizes notices to be published on a newspaper’s website in lieu of its print edition. Referred to Committee
A02306 – Authorizes notices in the state to be published on an “online news publication” in lieu of a local newspaper. To qualify, an online news publication must provide daily general interest news for a specific geographic area and must have been continuously published for at least one year prior to publishing notices. Referred to Committee
A08262 – Authorizes counties to post local laws and notices via the internet where such a county doesn’t have a newspaper published within the county. Referred to Committee
IOWA
Senate Study Bill 3175 – A bill for an act relating to local government, including the approval of action by ordinance and posting of public notices, and including applicability provisions.
This bill mandates that any internal policies or rules created by departments, offices, or subunits of counties or cities must first be submitted to and approved by the respective board of supervisors or city council through an ordinance, which must also include a cost analysis detailing impacts on taxpayers and businesses, and be made publicly accessible online. Additionally, the bill requires all statutorily mandated public notices to be posted on a statewide public notice internet site, effectively shifting the primary method of public notification from newspapers to online platforms for governmental entities.
DELAWARE
HB321 – This bill amends Delaware law to change how proposed amendments to the Delaware Constitution are shared with the public. Instead of requiring publication in newspapers of general circulation in each county, the bill now mandates that proposed amendments be posted prominently on the websites of the Department of Elections and the General Assembly for at least 90 days before the next general election. The term “dissemination” replaces “notice” to reflect this shift in how information is shared. The bill also clarifies that a “proposed amendment” refers to the full text of the legislation. The individuals responsible for ensuring this dissemination, such as the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, must notify various state officials, including the Governor and members of the General Assembly, about the posting. This change aims to modernize the process of informing citizens about potential changes to the state’s foundational law. Assigned to Administration Committee in House
LOUISIANA
HB 997 – This bill allows political subdivisions, such as police juries, city and parish councils, municipal corporations, school boards, and various districts, to designate either a newspaper or their official website as their official journal, which is where public notices and proceedings are published. If a political subdivision chooses its website as its official journal, it can still opt to publish important information like official proceedings and public notices in a newspaper as well. The bill also updates the requirements for notifying the Secretary of State about the selected official journal, now including the option to provide a web address if a website is chosen. This change aims to modernize how these governmental bodies communicate official information to the public.