Most newspapers now publish notices on their website in addition to print, even in states that don’t require it. As we’ve written before, it’s one of the most important things publishers can do to help their state’s press association protect newspaper notice.
However, too many publishers still make it difficult for users to find the notices that are posted on their website. Last week we spotted a perfect illustration of the phenomenon.
The Westerly Sun published an editorial (“In defense of legal notices”) arguing against legislation that has been introduced in Rhode Island’s General Assembly that would allow local governments to publish notices on their websites in lieu of print newspapers. A website visitor quickly added a helpful suggestion in the comments section below the article.
Ill-considered Florida bill on the move
Good news: By March 1, 2021, bills had been introduced in 20 states that would have moved all public notice, or a significant percentage of it, from newspapers to government websites. A year later we’ve seen similar legislation in only six states.
Bad news: The bill in one of those states — Florida House Bill 7049 — is a serious threat to become law. HB-7049 passed out of committee last Monday and is expected to be approved by the full House sometime this week.
So the battle over public notice in Florida comes down to the Senate, as it has in the past.