House bill to modernize Pennsylvania public-notice law splits publishers and local governments

House Local Government Committee members heard competing views Thursday on House Bill 1291, legislation that would update Pennsylvania's public-notice law to require notices to appear in print newspapers, on those newspapers' websites in front of paywalls, and on a centralized statewide public-notice website at no additional cost to taxpayers.

The bill’s prime sponsor, Representative Freeman, called the measure an effort to “update Pennsylvania's public notice law to address changes that we are seeing in technology, while also recognizing the vital role that newspapers play.”

Supporters led by the Pennsylvania News Media Association argued the layered approach preserves independent, verifiable publication and protects people with limited Internet access. Melissa Moleski, in-house counsel for the Pennsylvania News Media Association, said, “Citizens cannot hold government accountable if they are unaware of proposed government actions. Public notice is not a formality.” She and other publisher witnesses emphasized statewide and county-level data they said show substantial numbers of households without reliable Internet and warned that moving notice responsibility solely to government websites would fragment access and increase the risk of missed or altered postings.

Publishers also presented examples intended to show notice costs are modest. Jennifer Bertetto, president and CEO of Trib Total Media, said newsletters and newspaper websites now reach millions of page views; she told the committee Trib Total Media reported $984,606 in…