Long hearing on statewide public‑notice website exposes split between local governments and newspapers

A protracted hearing on House Bill 1312 produced sharply divided testimony on whether the state should build a centralized public‑notice website.

Representative Meltzer, the bill’s sponsor, said House Bill 1312 would create a searchable, statewide public‑notice website to be run by the Indiana Office of Technology and phased in over 18 months: a July 2026 launch for entities under 50,000 population, a January start for entities up to 100,000, and a later phase for all units. He said the pause before implementation will allow time for a larger statutory cleanup; “if you put 5‑3‑1 [public‑notice citations] into title 36 it appears over 300 times,” he told the committee.

Municipal and county representatives and membership organizations testified in support. The Association of Indiana Counties and several county auditors argued the site would remove timing constraints caused by weekly newspapers, accelerate projects and expand the pool of bidders for public work. Rhonda Cook, representing county auditors, said some counties lack daily print publication and that weekly publication schedules force local governments to plan meetings and projects weeks in advance to meet statutory notice requirements.

Representatives of municipal associations said the change would save money for local governments and provide a single place for businesses and residents to search notices. Isabelle Elliot of Accelerate Indiana Municipalities provided a limited survey showing about $144,000 in combined public‑notice spending for 28 municipalities in 2024 and said a statewide portal would be “another tool in the toolbox,” not a replacement.

Newspaper publishers and the Hoosier State Press Association urged the committee to reject the bill. Amelia McClure, HSPA’s executive director, said newspapers already provide consolidated, verifiable notice, that the newspaper industry caps public‑notice rates by statute and that “25% of Hoosiers do not have access to the Internet in their homes,” citing the Indiana Digital Equity Plan; she and other publishers warned that moving notices to a state portal would reduce access for residents without reliable broadband and would harm the business model that supports local reporting. Publishers and several local editors said local papers already publish notices online at no additional cost and that newspapers will aggregate statewide lists free of charge.

Testimony lasted more than three hours. Committee members said the bill raises significant questions. Representative Meltzer said he plans a follow‑up bill to clean up the statutory cross‑references; the chair indicated he would hold the bill for further work and that any appropriation questions would be addressed in the appropriations process. No committee vote was taken at the conclusion of testimony.