House panel advances bill to move public legal notices online, prompting fierce testimony from newspapers and county officials

Representative Jeff Ehlers, the bill sponsor, asked the House State Affairs Committee on Wednesday to approve House Bill 166, legislation that would allow public legal notices to be published on a state-run website rather than (or in some cases in place of) paid newspaper publication.

The move “will save taxpayers,” Representative Jeff Ehlers said, noting state savings from Transparent Idaho and an estimated $500,000 one-time cost and $300,000 ongoing maintenance for a state site. He asked the committee to advance the bill to the floor.

Supporters argued the change would modernize access and reduce cost. “Somewhere around 90% of Idahoans have internet coverage,” Ehlers said, and a state website would ultimately centralize notices that now appear in many places.

Opponents — led by newspaper publishers and county officials — said the proposal would reduce notice readership and shift costs. Matt Tranquil, president and publisher of the Idaho Press, told the committee that legal notices represent only a tiny share of county budgets…