Opinion: SB 419 would harm democracy, as well as newspapers
May 19, 2009
OPINION
By Deb Musselman
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association
Director of Government Affairs
As I write on Primary Election Day, it’s rather quiet in Harrisburg; the House and Senate are both closed for the election. But this weekend brings Memorial Day, and shortly thereafter things will start heating up before the return to legislative session on June 1.
The big question is this -- how late will the budget be this year? Speculation abounds with every new announcement of declining tax revenues.
Attention to the public notice legislation – two Internet ‘advertising’ bills and one that would put public notices into pennysavers -- has not faded, though. PNA Board members and staff participated in a public hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on May 14, and another is scheduled for June 9. You can find our May 14 testimony online.
Representatives of local government organizations have found their message, and they’re sticking to it: payments to newspapers for publishing their legal notices constitute an unaffordable, burdensome “unfunded mandate” or even – get this – a subsidy to a dying industry. They’ve been singing that song for the better part of a decade, but lately it’s getting more traction at the Capitol: it’s a recession, let’s squeeze every penny, please, put those notices in junk mail, put them on a government website --“trust us, we’ll tell you what you need to know.”
OK, let’s see – setting up a new project at taxpayer expense will save money – really?! The Mercury (Pottstown) May 14 editorial points out the folly of that notion.
Newspapers and journalists have worked hard to help policymakers understand the true cost of putting notices in junk mail: the loss of public access to information about what government is doing. We’re making sure, too, that they understand the Internet idea behind SB 419 for what it is: a very expensive re-inventing of the wheel that PNA actually got rolling 10 years ago, with MyPublicNotices.com.
Why would you ask state taxpayers to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to do the same thing that private enterprise has been doing successfully, anyway? If they want to talk about costs, we’ll do that, but in the meantime, we need to make sure that every paper across the state located in areas having broadband availability – or even just decent dial-up service – takes part in this program. More than 90 dailies and weekly papers upload to MPN every day, with more being added all the time.
If your newspaper isn’t there yet, you need to be. That’s the message we want to deliver at next month’s hearing: “yes, we agree, the Internet is the 21st century, and we’re there, too, right now.”
At this point, the House bills are still in their original committees, but Senate Bill 419 could go to the Senate floor anytime next month. We’re doing our best to show why our democracy, and not just newspapers, would be harmed by that piece of legislation. As always, call me with any questions, comments, or suggestions.
By Deb Musselman
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association
Director of Government Affairs
As I write on Primary Election Day, it’s rather quiet in Harrisburg; the House and Senate are both closed for the election. But this weekend brings Memorial Day, and shortly thereafter things will start heating up before the return to legislative session on June 1.
The big question is this -- how late will the budget be this year? Speculation abounds with every new announcement of declining tax revenues.
Attention to the public notice legislation – two Internet ‘advertising’ bills and one that would put public notices into pennysavers -- has not faded, though. PNA Board members and staff participated in a public hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on May 14, and another is scheduled for June 9. You can find our May 14 testimony online.
Representatives of local government organizations have found their message, and they’re sticking to it: payments to newspapers for publishing their legal notices constitute an unaffordable, burdensome “unfunded mandate” or even – get this – a subsidy to a dying industry. They’ve been singing that song for the better part of a decade, but lately it’s getting more traction at the Capitol: it’s a recession, let’s squeeze every penny, please, put those notices in junk mail, put them on a government website --“trust us, we’ll tell you what you need to know.”
OK, let’s see – setting up a new project at taxpayer expense will save money – really?! The Mercury (Pottstown) May 14 editorial points out the folly of that notion.
Newspapers and journalists have worked hard to help policymakers understand the true cost of putting notices in junk mail: the loss of public access to information about what government is doing. We’re making sure, too, that they understand the Internet idea behind SB 419 for what it is: a very expensive re-inventing of the wheel that PNA actually got rolling 10 years ago, with MyPublicNotices.com.
Why would you ask state taxpayers to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to do the same thing that private enterprise has been doing successfully, anyway? If they want to talk about costs, we’ll do that, but in the meantime, we need to make sure that every paper across the state located in areas having broadband availability – or even just decent dial-up service – takes part in this program. More than 90 dailies and weekly papers upload to MPN every day, with more being added all the time.
If your newspaper isn’t there yet, you need to be. That’s the message we want to deliver at next month’s hearing: “yes, we agree, the Internet is the 21st century, and we’re there, too, right now.”
At this point, the House bills are still in their original committees, but Senate Bill 419 could go to the Senate floor anytime next month. We’re doing our best to show why our democracy, and not just newspapers, would be harmed by that piece of legislation. As always, call me with any questions, comments, or suggestions.
