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Bill would allow counties to publish legally required notices in qualifying digital newspapers
Summary
Supporters told the Judiciary Committee HB 74 would update state public-notice law to permit legal advertisements to run in digital publications that maintain archives and devote staff to local reporting; supporters said the change would preserve public notice in a changing media landscape.
Delegate Linda Foley and a coalition of press-association and local-government witnesses asked the House Judiciary Committee to support House Bill 74, a measure to allow required legal notices and advertisements to be published in qualifying digital news outlets as well as in print newspapers of general circulation.
Foley, a former journalist, said Maryland’s legal-notice statutory framework reflects a different media era and noted a University of Maryland Merrill School study attached to her written testimony showing growth in digital-only local outlets even as legacy print operations shrink. “This bill would allow notices to be published in either print or digital formats, providing access to the widest possible audience and at the same time providing some cost savings for some municipalities and counties,” Foley said. The bill would require…
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