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Committee approves bill to let local governments publish legal notices online
Summary
HB1009 would allow clerks, tax collectors and municipalities to publish legally required notices on their own websites or a designated site if less expensive; proponents said it modernizes government communications while newspaper groups warned decentralization could fragment access.
Representative Griffiths introduced HB1009 to provide flexibility and cost savings for governmental publication of legally required advertisements and public notices. Under the bill, a clerk, tax collector or municipality could post notices on its own website, a county website or a designated private website when doing so is less expensive than publishing in a newspaper.
Representative Stark (a publications background) and others asked whether the bill contains criteria to ensure adequate reach; Griffiths said the measure is permissive, not prohibitive, and gives constitutional officers discretion to select the most cost-effective option that still meets statutory publication requirements. The Florida Press Association expressed concern that decentralization could make public notices harder to find and requested compromise language establishing minimum standards. The press association emphasized floridapublicnotices.com’s statewide repository role.
Representative Antone urged collaboration with the Florida Press Association. The committee voted 12-3 to report HB1009 favorably.
The bill will move forward for further committee consideration.
