Contact your state senator today to urge
a ‘NO’ vote on SB 194
Editorialize this week against the bill that would take public notices out of newspapers and put them on government websites
It is our understanding that the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) sent out an op-ed regarding Senate Bill 194. If you plan on running their op-ed, we have a letter to the editor from PNA President & CEO William Cotter that we ask you to run as well. Thank you.
PNA members from across the commonwealth have written editorials about SB 194. You are free to reprint them with proper attribution to the originating news organization.
Pushing public notices to government website is a bad move
Read the op-ed from the President of Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, Bill Cotter
State Senate Bill 194, sponsored by Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Adams/Franklin), would allow school districts and municipal and county governments the option of posting meeting and other legally required public notices on their websites instead of publishing them in newspapers, the trusted source of public notices for generations.
Our Opinion: State Senate bill would limit access to public information
Read an editorial from The Times Tribune.
Ruling in a post-Sept. 11, 2001 First Amendment case regarding the deportation of Arab and Muslim from the United States after immigration hearings closed to the public, Judge Damon J. Keith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit made a statement that has become more famous than the decision itself.
In his decision against the government’s tactics to do as it wished without the possibility of government scrutiny, Keith’s scathing rebuke of the practice drew a firm line between what democratic governments can do, and what its citizens should expect.
Local democracy requires public notices local government doesn’t control
Read an editorial from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Opinion Editor Brandon McGinley
Pennsylvania public officials must not be allowed to cut independent media organizations — that is, newspapers — out of the process of providing public notice of government functions. An attempt to allow county and local governments to bring public notices entirely in house, thereby limiting citizens’ access to critical information about how their government functions and how to participate in democracy at the local level, must be opposed.
Newspapers, news sites best places for public to access notices
Read an editorial from The Tribune-Democrat (Johnstown) Publisher Chip Minemyer.
We join the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association and our colleagues across the state in strongly opposing Senate Bill 194, which would give local governments the option of advertising public notices on county or municipal government websites. Rather, recognizing that changes have occurred in both government and the news industry, we support House Bill 1291, which allows for modernization of the process without limiting the public’s access to this critical information.
Local democracy requires public notices local government doesn’t control
Read an editorial from PennLive’s Outreach & Opinion Editor
Joyce Davis
Pennsylvania Senators are considering a bill that would change the way local governments inform the public about important notices. Senate Bill 194 would allow local, county and state officials to bypass newspapers and post public notices only on government websites. It is a bad bill that we urge lawmakers to reject. Senate Bill 194 is bad for three simple reasons: It ill serves voters, would increase distrust of government, and not save taxpayers a single dime.
Keep government advertisements in Pennsylvania newspapers
Read an editorial from TribLive.
Government should never happen in the dark.
We elect our leaders to represent our best interests, to craft laws that protect our communities and to spend our money wisely. All of that has to happen in the sunshine of the public eye for it to be trustworthy. And yet too often, government wants to find a shady corner. It wants to put on sunglasses and a floppy hat and find a way to avoid the light. That has to be challenged at every opportunity. The most recent is a bill proposed by state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, which offers “flexibility” to government when it comes to communicating with the public.
Local government like municipalities, counties and school district must take certain steps to inform the public of actions.
PNA Supports HB 1291
Public notices are official advertisements required to be published in printed newspapers of general circulation. They are mandated by statutes, regulations, court rules, and court orders. Public notices are important because they inform citizens about tax increases, zoning changes, school closures, environmental proposals impacting health and property, and other critical issues before local governments take action. Public notices are published in newspapers because newspapers are an independent, third party whose constitutional role is to hold government accountable. Public notices have been published in newspapers in Pennsylvania for centuries; in fact, the Declaration of Independence was a public notice published in the Pennsylvania Evening Post on July 6, 1776.
Public notices in Pennsylvania are governed by the Newspaper Advertising Act, which requires that public notices be published in printed newspapers of general circulation. More specific statutes dealing with a variety of subjects often contain more detailed notice requirements. PNA is currently monitoring bills in the General Assembly that would seek to amend the Newspaper Advertising Act, as well as many other pieces of legislation that would touch on public notices.
Pennsylvania’s newspapers remain the most reliable place to read and establish legal proof of public notices. Most of Pennsylvania registered voters, 92%, agree that public notices should be published in print by local newspapers and favor current state law that requires this process.1
Search public notices in Pennsylvania
The website linked below is a compilation of public notices published throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is a public service made possible by the newspapers of Pennsylvania at no cost to taxpayers. This easy-to-use website is designed to assist citizens who want to know more about the actions of local, county and state government, as well as events occurring in the local and state court systems.
1 “PA NewsMedia Association Benchmark,’’ survey of 600 Pennsylvania registered voters Aug. 24-28, 2022, conducted for PNA by Public Opinion Strategies, Alexandria, Virginia.