Hoosiers soon may have to search rarely visited local government websites to look for official public notices, instead of continuing to find government budgets, tax rates, tax sales, and meeting times conveniently listed in their local newspapers and on news websites.
On Tuesday, the House Government and Regulatory Reform Committee voted 10-3 to eliminate mandatory newspaper publication of all public notices in favor of requiring localities to post notices on their website or their county's website.
The sponsor of House Bill 1498, state Rep. Doug Miller, R-Elkhart, said technological changes have eliminated the need for printed notices, and local governments no longer should be required to pay for newspaper advertising to get a notice out to the public.
Under his plan, which now goes to the full House, mandatory public notice advertising would cease after June 30, 2022. Localities could continue newspaper publication after that date but would not be required to do so, Miller said.
Steve Key, executive director of the Hoosier State Press Association, unsuccessfully urged Miller to withdraw his legislation to give Indiana newspapers time to work with legislative leadership, and state and local governmental entities, including the courts, to develop a new, statewide public notice advertising system.
"We want to do something that will hold up over the test of time," Key said.
In the interim, Key emphasized that third-party publication of public notices in newspapers ensures local governments follow the rules; all notices can be found in a single, easily accessible location; the notices are available on websites people regularly visit; and notices are archived at local libraries.
He said no one really is going to take the time to click on separate websites for their municipality, township, county, and various regional entities to find public notices — leading to a lack of public transparency and oversight of governmental actions.
The legislation is supported by organizations representing Indiana local governments and school boards.
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