This newspaper joins the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association and other newspapers across the state in strongly opposing Senate Bill 194, which is under consideration by state lawmakers in Harrisburg.

We believe that newspapers and news sites offer the best places for the public to access notices. Senate Bill 194 would give local governments the option of advertising public notices on county or municipal government websites.

In each edition of the Chester County Press, you will see some public notices. It’s a small part of the work that this newspaper has been doing in this community since 1866. Public notices keep residents informed about planned government action – zoning changes, fee hikes, tax increases, new ordinances, shifts in polling places and much more.

Senate Bill 194 could potentially remove public notices from newspapers and allow them to be published on government-owned websites—which would limit access and harm government transparency.

As an alternative, the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association’s Board of Directors supports HB 1291, legislation led by state Rep. Robert Freeman (D-Northampton), chairman of the House Local Government Committee—which is where the bill now sits.

Freeman’s bill would expand places where public notices could appear to include digital media sites and with organizations that have no print component. The bill prioritizes newspapers and their websites – where more people are still most likely to see notices – but recognizes the

growing impact of other forms of news media. For example, a community that no longer has a printed newspaper but has a continuing digital descendant would find notices there – or through an online-only news organization. Each of those options would maintain the independence of the process.

Senate Bill 194 was recently voted out of committee and could be up for consideration by lawmakers soon.

We urge our readers to contact their state senators and make their opposition to Senate Bill 194 known.

The Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association argued that removing public notices from newspapers is “bad news for government transparency, accountability and, ultimately, taxpayer protection, which relies on access to trusted information about government activity before official action is taken.”

The media organization cited these concerns:

• Traffic to government websites is much lower than to news sites.

• Government websites are often difficult to navigate.

• Government website content is often not updated.

There are also concerns about areas of the state with limited or no internet service.

“Government websites are not and never will be independent, third-party providers of public notice information with which newspapers have long been trusted,” the PNA said. “Government website advertising ignores taxpayers who do not have access to reliable broadband, and governments that choose to advertise on their own websites risk ignoring constituents who do

not have access to reliable internet service.”

Additionally, government agencies will likely need to hire additional staff and purchase additional technology to comply with state public notice requirements. This would be more expensive than the cost of publishing notices in newspapers, an infinitesimal portion of a general fund budget. Typically, the annual cost per municipal resident is less than the price of a small cup of coffee.

Public notices should be just that – public – posted not on a government-controlled platform

but in a local news outlet available to everyone. That starts with newspapers and their websites.