Committee advances bill letting local governments use websites when local newspaper closes

The Finance and Government Operations Committee recommended House File 2231, a bill intended to give local governments temporary authority to post statutorily required public notices on their official websites when a "qualified" local newspaper has closed and no replacement exists.

Representative Harder introduced the measure, describing it as a continuation of negotiations from the prior legislative session and the product of talks with the Association of Minnesota Counties, the League of Minnesota Cities, and the Minnesota Newspaper Association. Tori Key of the League of Minnesota Cities said the bill would let cities publish required notices on their websites and on the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s public-notice website "while they research and identify a newspaper that fits the needs of their community." Key described the change as "a common sense 0 cost policy change" for cities that lose a local newspaper.

Jason Woodell, city manager for Prior Lake, told the committee that after the Prior Lake American closed his city spent more than $10,000 in the past 12 months to publish legally required notices in larger metropolitan newspapers that reach a small share of their residents. He said those publications reached fewer of his residents than the city’s website and a new local online publication, and argued the statutory publication requirement does not meet the goal of informing residents when the only available newspapers have minimal local circulation.

Laura Oksnavad, a school board member and chair of AMSD, said a district survey showed only 4% of respondents rely on newspapers for district information while 13% use the district website and 29% turn to the district newsletter; she said the district spends "over a thousand dollars a month" to publish summary minutes in newspapers that reach only a fraction of residents.

Representatives of county and township associations (Association of Minnesota Counties, Minnesota Association of Townships) and smaller publishers told the committee they supported the narrow underlying bill that provides temporary relief when a qualified newspaper disappears. The Minnesota Newspaper Association and several local publishers testified in favor of a negotiated, narrowly targeted approach but urged caution about broader reform. The Minnesota Newspaper Association described the bill as the result of lengthy stakeholder discussions and said newspapers continue to reach many readers through print and online editions.

The chair moved that House File 2231 be recommended to pass and be re-referred to the General Register. The motion passed by voice vote; the transcript records "all in favor, aye" and the chair announced the motion passes. No roll-call tally appears in the transcript.

Ending: Supporters described the bill as a bipartisan, years-long compromise to preserve public notice while recognizing local newspaper closures. Several witnesses said the proposed temporary website option would be a cost-neutral way to preserve transparency until a qualified local newspaper is identified.