Legislative Update

The House Local Government Committee on Wednesday approved an amended version of HB 1291, sponsored by committee Chairman Robert Freeman (D-Northampton), to modernize the state’s 50-year-old Newspaper Advertising Act. The amendment, which passed on a bipartisan 22-4 vote, would:

• Allow online-only, free and digital successors of printed newspapers that meet certain requirements to compete for public notices if there is no printed newspaper in a community.
• Require public notices to be posted in an easy-to-find location on a news outlet’s landing page, in front of the paywall, in addition to the print edition if one exists. All notices must be added to the statewide public notice website maintained by PNA at no extra cost.
• Make notices posted on a news website and the statewide website to be legally binding when urgent publication is required before the next print edition, where the notice must also appear.
• Clarify the legislation doesn’t affect legal journals.
• Direct municipalities to adopt a resolution at a public meeting identifying where their public notices will appear.

While the amendment received strong bipartisan support, the amended bill itself passed on a 14-12 party-line vote, with all Republicans opposing. The legislation now moves to the full House for consideration.

The House Local Government Committee also on Wednesday passed HB 2146, also sponsored by Chairman Freeman, to narrow the exceptions to the Sunshine Act’s requirement that government boards post their agendas at least 24 hours prior to a meeting.

The bill allows exceptions to the 24-hour rule for emergencies and matters of a de minimis nature. The committee adopted an amendment that adds tailored exemptions for certain “minor administrative” matters, including ones inadvertently omitted from an agenda that would cause a hardship if action were delayed.

Those administrative exceptions are personnel actions limited to firings, leaves, investigations or discipline; authorizations of time-sensitive legal filings; purchase or bill approvals below the telephonic bidding threshold (currently $13,200) for needed repairs to government property and purchase approvals under the bidding threshold (currently $24,500) to buy property at auction; grant applications facing imminent deadlines; processing paperwork for previously approved small borrowings or tax anticipation notes; and permit approvals for sewer modules.

The bill approved unanimously by the committee is positioned to be considered by the full House.

Two bills intended to promote and strengthen local journalism, sponsored by Rep. Chris Rabb (D-Philadelphia), cleared the House Communications & Technology Committee on Wednesday on a party-line 14-12 vote.

HB 2047, as amended by the committee, would bolster newsroom capacity by creating a state-supported journalism fellowship program for early-career journalists with a focus on underserved communities. HB 2048, as amended by the committee, would establish an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization responsible for awarding grants that improve access to local news and civic information and encourage innovation and collaboration among local news outlets. Both bills now head to the full House for consideration.

The House on Wednesday voted 100-98 to approve HB 490, sponsored by Rep. Ben Waxman (D-Philadelphia), which would extend Pennsylvania’s Shield Law for journalists by providing protection for nonconfidential sources or newsgathering materials. It would codify a three-part standard by allowing compelled disclosure only when the information is unavailable from any other source, essential to the case, and obtainable only from the journalist. This bill aims to strengthen protections for reporters and safeguard the integrity of the newsgathering process. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.

The House on Wednesday approved HR 398, sponsored by Rep. Robert Matzie (D-Beaver), designating the week of March 15-21 as Sunshine Week in Pennsylvania. The resolution highlights the basic principles of an open and accessible government as essential components of a free society.

House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia/Delaware) scheduled a May 19 special election, a date that coincides with the primary election, to fill the 196^th House District seat in York County, which was vacated by Rep. Seth Grove last week.

Sen. Pat Stefano (R-Bedford/Fayette/Somerset/Westmoreland) introduced SB 1150, legislation aimed at narrowing the exceptions to the Sunshine Act’s requirement for government boards to publish a meeting agenda at least 24 hours in advance. The legislation would clarify that exceptions are limited to emergencies and matters de minimis in nature. Stefano’s bill is fundamentally the same as HB 2146 that Rep. Robert Freeman (D-Northampton) introduced. Both measures were offered to address concerns raised by a recent state Supreme Court ruling that permits government boards to consider almost any matter during a meeting without prior public notification. PNA supports both bills in their current forms.

Sen. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) intends to offer legislation establishing a registry for individuals convicted of felony animal cruelty or aggravated cruelty to animals. It would help protect animals and communities, deter repeat offenders, and support enforcement of existing penalties for egregious cruelty that currently result in felony charges, according to his cosponsorship memo.The proposal — called Aimee’s Law, named after 6-month-old Husky who was abandoned in freezing temperatures and later died — is similar to HB 2143 introduced by Rep. Kathleen Tomlinson (R-Bucks).

Rep. Chris Pielli (D-Chester) plans to offer legislation that would lower the minimum age to serve on a school board from 18 to 16 years old. According to his cosponsorship memo, the measure would expand civic engagement among younger voters and ensure students have a direct voice in decisions that shape their education.

Incumbent Seth Grove will resign from his 196^th state House District seat Saturday, ending a 17-year tenure in the legislature. Grove announced his resignation on Wednesday. He is leaving office after taking a job in the private sector as president and CEO of the Harrisburg-based Pennsylvania Aggregates and Concrete Association.

Rep. Robert Freeman (D-Northampton) introduced HB 2146 to address issues arising from a recent state Supreme Court ruling that allows virtually any matter to be considered without providing the public the required 24-hour notice.

PNA believes Freeman’s bill would limit exceptions to the 24-hour notice rule to emergencies or matters de minimis in nature that do not involve the expenditure of funds. When an exception is necessary, the change would need to be announced at the meeting and approved by a majority vote. The agenda would then have to be updated to reflect the change and posted on the agency’s office and, if available, website no later than the following day.

Rep. Robert Matzie (D- Beaver) plans to offer a resolution to recognize March 15 to 21 as “Sunshine Week” in Pennsylvania. Sunshine Week, first established in 2005, is intended to spark discussion about the importance of open government and the public’s right to access to government documents and meetings. The week coincides with James Madison’s birthday, underscoring its focus on promoting transparency and accountability in government, according to Matzie’s cosponsorship memo.

Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia) intends to offer legislation prohibiting public officials and employees from working for a lobbying firm or trade association. “This will help limit the influence of special interest groups in Harrisburg while ensuring that Pennsylvanians know that their government is representing their interests,” Kenyatta’s cosponsorship memo states.

Rep. Kathleen Tomlinson (R-Bucks) introduced HB 2143, which  would require individuals convicted of an animal abuse crime to annuallyregister their personal information and the offense for which they were convicted for a period of 15 years.  County sheriffs would maintain local registries and forward information to the Pennsylvania State Police, which would create a publicly accessible central registry.

Rep. Jason Ortitay (R-Allegheny/Washington) plans to introduce a bill to modernize the 50-year-old Newspaper Advertising Act. His proposal would allow local governments to publish public notices electronically or in print in a menu of places, such as government websites.

PNA supports HB 1291, which would permit notices to appear in online or free newspapers if no printed newspaper exists in a community, while ensuring they remain in a trusted, independent news source.

Rep. Valerie Gaydos (D-Allegheny) intends to introduce a constitutional amendment to change how the five-member bipartisan Legislative Reapportionment Commission operates. The commission redraws legislative maps after the federal census to balance populations across the 203 House districts and 50 senatorial districts.

Her proposal would require a vote of four of the five members to approve a plan, make the maps publicly available, extend timelines for debate, and require input from members of the General Assembly to reflect their communities of interest.

Rep. Jeanne McNeill (D-Lehigh) introduced HB 2123, which would impose fines on unlicensed adoption intermediaries that provide service or advertise adoptions. If enacted, Pennsylvania would join 31 states and the District of Columbia in prohibiting this practice, according to McNeil’s cosponsorship memo.

Sen. Michele Brooks (R-Crawford/Lawrence/Mercer) plans to offer legislation requiring greater transparency, oversight and reporting of taxpayer-funded child care programs to ensure funds are used efficiently, her cosponsorship memo states. The most recent three-month report on child care program inspections, complaints and actions by the Department of Human Services was published in 2022.

Rep. Sheryl Delozier (R-Cumberland) announced on Tuesday she will not seek reelection to another term in the House of Representatives representing the narrowly divided district she has served for the past 19 years, according to PennLive.com.

Two House members intend to introduce legislation to address transparency concerns arising from a recent Supreme Court decision regarding the Sunshine Act that allows government agencies to add items to their meeting agenda without prior notice to the public.

Reps. Robert Freeman (D-Northampton), chair of the House Local Government Committee, and Brad Roae (R-Crawford/Erie), the ranking Republican on the House State Government Committee, seek their colleagues’ support to preserve what they say was the original intent behind the 2021 amendment to the Sunshine Act requiring government agencies to make meeting agendas available to the public at least 24 hours in advance. The amendment excepted emergencies and de minimis matters from the requirement.

The legislators said the court’s interpretation of the law allows any matter to be considered at a meeting without prior notice. “I believe this runs contrary to the intent of the rule and Sunshine Act to provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to be informed of upcoming matters to be discussed at meetings of their local municipality, school district, and Commonwealth agencies,” Freeman said in his cosponsorship memo.

“In order to preserve the purpose of the notice and agenda requirements of the Sunshine Act, the General Assembly should clarify the language regarding these exceptions and limit them to an appropriate set of circumstances,” Roae stated in his memo.

PNA is supportive of efforts to address the transparency concern caused by the high court’s ruling, which PNA Media Law Counsel Melissa Melewsky said is “an invitation for abuse and Pennsylvanians will suffer as a result.”

House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D-Delaware/Philadelphia) set Feb. 24 as the date for special elections to fill seats vacated by Reps. Josh Siegel (D-Lehigh) and Dan Miller (D-Allegheny). Special elections to fill the seats of Reps. Torren Ecker (R-Franklin) and Lou Schmitt (R-Blair) will be held March 17. All four left to serve in elective roles in their respective counties. Their legislative districts are considered party strongholds, so control of the House is likely to remain under Democratic control by one vote for the remainder of the session, which ends Nov. 30.

Rep. Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster), a one-time House speaker, told party officials last month he won’t run for reelection to the seat he has held for 20 years, according to LNP | LancasterOnline.

Cutler joins Reps. Mary Jo Daley (D-Montgomery), a seven-term lawmaker, and Anita Kulik (D-Allegheny), a five-term incumbent, both of whom announced last year they would not seek reelection.

Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York) intends to introduce legislation that would place a lien on private property that received upgrades, renovations or improvements using taxpayer money. The payment would be triggered upon the subsequent transfer of property ownership. This stems from the $1.1 million spent on security upgrades to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s private residence outside Philadelphia, according to her cosponsorship memo. While she acknowledges security upgrades to a private residence may be necessary to keep elected officials safe, “Taxpayers deserve to know what they are paying for and to know that it will come back to the state should the property be sold.” Rep. Wendy Fink (R-York) signaled her intention to offer a companion bill on this topic in the House.

Rep. Tarik Khan (D-Philadelphia) plans to offer legislation that would prevent communities from placing arbitrary limits on the number of unrelated roommates who can occupy a home. Calling it the “Golden Girls Law” after the popular 1980s TV show about four woman who shared a home, Khan said in his cosponsorship memo his goal is to expand housing options while helping people afford to stay in their communities.

Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Adams/Franklin) introduced SR 200 that would establish a special committee to investigate the April 13 arson attack on the Governor’s Residence and issue a report to senators within 90 days.

Rep. Jeff Olsommer (R-Pike/Wayne) proposes legislation requiring school districts to direct new property tax revenue resulting from data center construction to be used to reduce homeowners and farmers’ property tax bills.

Rep. Jeanne McNeill

Rep. Jeanne McNeill (D-Lehigh) intends to offer legislation to give parents tools to control the personal information that companies providing online services can collect from minors. It would require businesses to complete a Data Protection Impact Assessment before offering new online services, products, or features that are likely to be accessed by children under the age of 18. Other bills that seek to address social media access by minors include SB 22, offered by Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Montgomery/Philadelphia) and HB 1430, sponsored by Rep. Brian Munroe (D-Bucks).

The Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee on Tuesday voted along party-lines to use its rarely used power to issue subpoenas for information about the more than $1 million of taxpayer funds spent on security upgrades made to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s private home in suburban Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania State Police recommended the upgrades following the arson attack on the governor’s official residence in Harrisburg. Sen. Jarrett Coleman (R-Bucks/Lehigh), who chairs the GOP-controlled committee, said the subpoenas for the security upgrade records as well as information relating to the governor’s air travel are necessary to find out basic details about how public funds are being spent; Democratic members called the subpoenas an invasion of privacy and outside the committee’s authority.

Rep. Jeremy Shaffer (R-Lehigh) proposes legislation to prohibit video streaming services from transmitting commercial advertisements at a volume louder than the programs they accompany. “This measure will help ensure a more comfortable and consistent viewing experience for consumers and protect them from the jarring and disruptive nature of excessively loud advertisements,” his cosponsorship memo states.

Rep. Kristin Marcell (R-Bucks) intends to offer legislation to increase the penalty for violating the confidentiality requirement of the Safe2Say Something, a program designed to provide a confidential platform for students and adults to report tips of potential violence. Her bill would raise the penalty to a second-degree misdemeanor. The law currently has it as a misdemeanor of the third degree.

A co-sponsorship memo circulated by Sen. Lindsey Williams (D-Allegheny) outlines her plans to increase transparency and public participation in the selection process for judicial nominees to vacant positions. The bill would include a requirement that the Office of General Counsel post the names and application paperwork on its publicly accessible website for 30 days; allow for public comment to the majority and minority chairpersons of committees conducting confirmation hearings; and require a broadcasted public hearing for nominees.

Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Lehigh/Northampton) has introduced SB 1010, a joint resolution proposing to increase the state budget cycle from one to two years. Read the co-sponsor memo and bill here.

Sen. Tracy Pennycuick

The Senate Communications & Technology Committee Tuesday approved SB 1090, sponsored by Sen. Tracy Pennycuick (R-Berks/Montgomery), to require platforms that use artificial intelligence chatbots to disclose the user is communicating with a non-human. Additional disclosures would be required when a minor uses the chatbot. The bill exempts businesses that use AI for customer service and PNA believes it would have no impact on PNA members as drafted. A similar bill, HB 2006, has been introduced in the House by Rep. Melissa Shusterman (D-Chester).

The bipartisan, bicameral Local Government Commission approved a proposal for the General Assembly’s consideration that would specify what the summary of a proposed ordinance in a newspaper advertisement must include to meet the state’s legal requirements. Current law requires counties, First Class cities, boroughs, and First- and Second-Class townships to publish the full text of proposed ordinances or the title and a brief summary of the proposal in a public notice prior to enactment. The law does not define “brief summary” and the commission is offering this proposal to address concerns that the lack of clarity in the statute could result in court challenges. The proposed legislation would require the summary to include specific information, a location where the full text is available to the public, and it would impose a limit on liability if the information was provided as required by law.

Ending a political stalemate that lasted more than four months, Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday afternoon signed a $50.09 billion state spending plan for fiscal year 2025-26 that was due June 30. The General Assembly passed the budget earlier in the day; the plan received bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. The final budget compromise includes new funding for K-12 public education but no additional dollars for mass transit. Additionally, Pennsylvania will withdraw from the 12-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. For more, visit The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

In a 14-12 party-line vote Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee approved HB 490, which would extend the state’s shield law beyond absolute protection for confidential sources to include nonconfidential sources or newsgathering materials. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Ben Waxman (D-Philadelphia). The legislation would allow disclosure only if the information is unavailable elsewhere, essential to the case and obtainable only from the journalist. It further would require courts to identify what must be disclosed and support its orders with detailed findings, ensuring compliance and meaningful appellate review.

Rep. Joe McAndrew (D-Allegheny) plans to introduce legislation calling for the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to produce a report that analyzes the impact Penn State University’s seven branch-campus closures will have on students, businesses and the economy. The university board voted to close these campuses in spring 2027.

Rep. Tim Brennan (D-Bucks) intends to offer legislation to allow United States citizens 18 years and older who were born abroad and never resided in this country to be eligible to vote in state and local elections. They currently are allowed to vote only in federal elections. Legislatures in a majority of states, including Pennsylvania’s neighbors, have expanded this right to “never resided” citizens, according to his cosponsor memo.

Rep. Ben Waxman (D-Philadelphia) plans to offer legislation aiming to prohibit public officials and their immediate family members from creating or promoting cryptocurrency that they have a financial interest in during the official’s term of office. His memo states that the legislation’s goal is “to promote transparency and accountability by ensuring that public officials prioritize the public interest over personal financial gain.”

Rep. Jared Solomon (D-Philadelphia) plans to offer a resolution calling for a Joint State Government Commission study to determine if placement on the ballot gives candidates an unfair advantage and to explore potential reforms, such as ballot rotation.

Tuesday’s election results will create four vacancies in the House. Reps. Dan Miller (D-Allegheny) and Lou Schmitt (R-Blair) won election to seats on their respective county court’s bench. Rep. Torren Ecker (R-Adams/Cumberland) won a judgeship in Adams County while Rep. Josh Siegel (D-Lehigh) won election as executive in his county. Their departures will leave the House with a 100-99 partisan divide – Democrats hold on to a one-person majority – until winners in what are regarded as politically safe districts for the incumbent parties are seated in yet-to-be-scheduled special elections.

The House voted 158-45 Wednesday to approve HR 322, sponsored by Rep. Ben Waxman (D-Philadelphia) designating Oct. 5-11 as National Newspaper Week in Pennsylvania.

Rep. Jason Ortitay (R-Allegheny/Washington) plans to offer legislation that would require  information to be included in AI-generated content to help prevent the spread of misinformation, protect intellectual property, and support public trust in digital media. It would require generative AI providers to offer a tool to allow users to check if content was created or altered by AI and its origin, give them the option to add a visible disclosure their content is AI-generated, and automatically include the metadata of the AI-generated content that provides a record of when and how it was created or altered.

The Senate Communications and Technology Committee on Tuesday approved an amended version of SB 431, sponsored by Sen. Tracy Pennycuick (R-Berks/Montgomery) that would allow local governments to deny Right-to-Know Law requests believed to be generated by artificial intelligence, citing concerns of potential cybersecurity. The amendment, which PNA requested, provides an exemption for requests from individuals employed by news media organizations as well as nonprofits conducting educational research.

Sen. James Malone

Sen. James Malone (D- Lancaster) plans to offer legislation to prohibit elected officials, public employees, and candidates for public office from accepting any cash gifts or gifts exceeding $50 in total value from a single source per calendar year. His proposed bill is a companion to HB 744 sponsored by Rep. Jared Solomon (D-Philadelphia).

Sen. Jarrett Coleman

Sen. Jarrett Coleman (R-Bucks/Lehigh) proposes a constitutional amendment that would return Pennsylvania to a part-time Legislature like 40 other states have. The state went to a full-time Legislature in 1968 at the recommendation of a constitutional convention. Similarly, Rep. Stephanie Borowicz (R-Clinton/Union) introduced HB 1746 which would have the Legislature meet from January through March each year unless called into special session at another time of the year.   

Sen. Marty Flynn (D-Lackawanna/Luzerne) seeks support for legislation to impose an additional 10% tax on subscriptions to, and one-time purchases from, online adult content platforms. This tax would be in addition to the state’s 6% sales tax. Revenue generated from the tax would be deposited into the state’s general fund.

Sen. Anthony Williams

Sen. Anthony Williams (D-Delaware/Philadelphia) calls for legislation to halt lawmakers’ pay during budget impasses. Having “skin in the game” by not getting paid during stalemates, as was the case when he first got elected to the General Assembly 36 years ago, “encouraged earnest negotiations and timely passage of the state budget,” his cosponsor memo states. Rep. Jill Cooper (R-Westmoreland) introduced HB 1682 which also calls for suspending pay when a budget is not completed by the July 1 start of a new fiscal year.

Rep. Brenda Pugh (R-Luzerne) plans to offer a constitutional amendment that would require the General Assembly to be in session every weekday except for state holidays when a budget bill isn’t enacted by July 1. Her cosponsor memo states, “By allowing Pennsylvanians to vote to amend our constitution to incentivize timely budget agreements, we can better represent the constituents we were elected to serve and reassure the public that we are committed to their success.”

Hoping to build on to the improvement to school security enacted last session that requires a school security officer in each district, Sen. Jarrett Coleman (R-Bucks/Lehigh) intends to offerlegislation that would place security personnel in every school building. “Many parents don’t realize that their district’s security officer could be stationed 20 minutes away from their child,” his cosponsor memo notes.

Rep. Melissa Shusterman (D-Chester) plans to introduce legislation aimed at protecting consumers from potential misuse of their data by artificial intelligence chatbot providers. Her bill would prohibit suppliers of AI chatbots from selling or sharing information with a third party unless that dissemination is conspicuously disclosed to consumers.

Rep. David Rowe (R-Juniata/Mifflin/Snyder/Union) introduced HB 1937, which would make voter registration applications available to sportsmen when they apply for a hunting or fishing license. “By making voter registration applications available in each of these interactions, we can encourage greater civic participation by this essential portion of the public,” according to his cosponsor memo.

“The agency has the burden of proof to prove an exemption. The exemptions are not mandatory. They are not confidentiality requirements. The Right-to-Know Law is not a confidentiality statute. It is a public access transparency law.”

— Melissa Bevan Melewsky, PNA media law counsel, talking about the Pennsylvania open records law at the PNA Foundation journalism training session this week

Rep. Chris Rabb (D-Philadelphia) plans to offer legislation that establishes an Equal Opportunity Audit program to strengthen accountability and transparency of contractors, grant recipients, and beneficiaries of tax incentives that do business with the commonwealth. It would assign Department of General Services, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, to provide oversight of the program, issue public audit reports, and enforce compliance.

Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) introduced SB 1029, which establishes a hate group database to be maintained by the attorney general in consultation with the state police with limited accessibility to law enforcement and other appropriate agencies. Those agencies would be charged with annually compiling a public report of hate group activities and incidents in the state. This measure is part of a six-bill hate group and ethnic intimidation package the senator is offering.

Rep. Danielle Friel Otten (D-Chester) plans to offer legislation that would require the Public Utility Commission to explicitly consider the public interest in every proceeding, deliberation and decision that comes before it. The bill further would require the PUC to state how its decisions align with the public interest.

“This National Newspaper Week — and every week — consider subscribing, sharing or simply saying thank you to your local journalists. They are not just reporting the news; they are helping write the story of Pennsylvania and your community.”

– Bill Cotter, PNA president and CEO, in an op-ed column discussing how and why the news media industry plays such an important part in our everyday lives. Download the op-ed here.

Sen. Pat Stefano

Sen. Pat Stefano (R-Bedford/Fayette/Somerset/Westmoreland) plans to offer a resolution declaring Oct. 5-11 as National Newspaper Week in Pennsylvania. The resolution will call for celebrating the commonwealth’s newspaper industry and honoring its journalists, editors, reporters and all those involved in bringing news and newspapers to communities. Rep. Ben Waxman (D-Philadelphia) offered a similar resolution in the House. HR 322 will be considered by the House Communications & Technology Tuesday.

The House Local Government Committee held a two-hour hearing Monday on bipartisan legislation to modernize the state public notice law.  HB 1291 is sponsored by committee Chairman Robert Freeman (D-Northampton).

Committee members heard testimony in support of, and in opposition to, the bill that would require newspapers to post notices on their websites and in front of their paywalls in addition to their printed editions to meet state legal requirements for publication. HB 1291 would allow online publications and free newspapers to publish public notices if no printed newspaper exists in a community.

Speaking in support of the bill from PNA were board Chairwoman Jennifer Bertetto, president and CEO of Trib Total Media; board Vice Chairwoman Sharon Sorg, executive vice president of newspaper operations for CNHI, LLC, and publisher of its newspapers in Sharon, Grove City and New Castle; and Melissa Bevan Melewsky, media law counsel.

Their testimony emphasized that:

• Newspapers are an independent third party whose only stake in the public notice system is informing readers.
• Citizens know they will find notices in newspapers, whose print and digital products have never had a bigger audience.
• Public notice costs are payments for professional, legally required services and investments in local journalism that hold power to account.
• Removing print newspapers from the public notice system would exclude millions of Pennsylvanians who have limited or no internet access.
• Requiring newspapers to post notices on the PNA-maintained statewide public notice website at no additional cost to taxpayers is a value-added public service. 

Representatives from county, borough, township, school board, and municipal authority associations spoke against HB 1291 and in favor of SB 194, which provides options for legal notice publication. They argued:

• Newspapers have a reduced readership that limits accessibility to government information.
• Putting public notices in newspapers is less efficient and more expensive than posting on a government website.
• Allowing notices to appear on social media sites, digital publications, mailers and local television and government websites offers flexibility.
• A publicly funded website, not the PNA-operated site, should serve as the statewide portal for notices.
• There should be a cap on public notice publication fees.

Delphine Samuels, associate professor of accounting at the University of Chicago, presented her research into the impact of Florida’s 2023 law that allowed public notices to be posted on government websites. Her findings showed that notices in newspapers declined by 36% in the two years after the law took effect; traffic on government websites showed no change; and citizen participation at government meetings declined by 16%.

The committee also heard from Frank Lutz, principal of PennBid, an e-procurement system. Lutz spoke of newspapers’ limited reach and said their public notice rates don’t align with municipal budgets. LevittownNow.com publisher Tom Sofield advocated for amending the bill to allow online-only news publications like his to be allowed to publish whether or not there is a print newspaper in a community.

After the hearing, Freeman said he may offer amendatory language when the committee brings up the bill for a vote. 

To view a video of the hearing, click here.

Rep. Jeremy Shaffer (R-Allegheny) intends to offer legislation that would suspend the automatic pay raises the legislators, governor and lieutenant governor receive in any year there is not a state budget enacted by July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.