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Committee debates compromise on moving probate notices from print to web; decision deferred
Summary
Members of the House Judiciary Committee debated an amendment to House Bill 3623 that would limit required newspaper estate-notice publications when heirs are known and require centralized website publication; the committee discussed newspaper revenue impacts and agreed to resume debate the next day without taking a final vote.
The House Judiciary Committee spent an extended portion of its hearing considering an amendment to House Bill 3623 that would narrow required newspaper publication of probate notices and allow publication on a centralized state website when heirs are known.
Delegate Moon, who offered the amendment as a compromise, told the committee that the bill had been vetoed by the governor after passing earlier and that the proposed amendment would limit newspaper publication in cases where the register of wills can identify the full universe of heirs. Moon said the amendment was intended as a compromise to reduce the financial burden on bereaved families while preserving notice to potential unknown heirs.
Committee members raised competing concerns. Some members said the practice of newspaper notices is antiquated and that charging families hundreds of dollars for print notices is unfair if the notice does not help locate heirs. Others warned the change could remove an important revenue stream for small local papers and cultural outlets that rely on that income. A committee exchange referenced a figure of about $1.3 million per year tied to publication fees and an example of a small outlet reporting roughly $60,000 per year from these notices; those numbers were discussed as context for the amendment.
Registers of Wills and other stakeholders were cited in committee as having tested the alternative process; committee members said registers had indicated the amendment would be workable for their offices. The amendment’s author and other supporters described the change as an incremental compromise: putting notices on a centralized website would still allow people to find probate notices without requiring paid print publication in all cases.
No final vote: Committee members debated the amendment at length but did not take a final vote at the hearing. Committee leadership said the issue would be revisited the following day and that Delegate Conway would be the first to speak when debate resumes.
What the amendment would do: As explained in the hearing, the amendment would permit registers of wills to publish probate notices on a state-maintained website rather than in newspapers when the register can identify the limited class of heirs (spouse, registered domestic partner, parents, children). If heirs are not known, traditional notice publication would remain available.
Stakeholder context: Committee members and witnesses referenced testimony from registers of wills and from small and community newspapers. Supporters argued the amendment reduces costs to families and administrative burdens on registers; opponents emphasized local media revenue and cultural access to notices (for example, outlets serving African American communities that rely on notice revenue).
Next steps: The committee paused debate and will resume consideration the next day; no committee recommendation was recorded at this hearing.
