Indiana senators kill House Bill 1312, a plan to eliminate public notice advertising

The Senate Local Government Committee voted 8-2 to kill House Bill 1312. As a result, the measure will not advance to the full Senate, but its language still could be inserted into other measures that are moving toward becoming law at the Statehouse.

Under the plan, the state and local units of government no longer would have been required to advertise in newspapers their meeting schedules, budgets, borrowing, ordinances, elections and similar information intended to ensure government transparency and accountability.

Those items instead would have been posted on a state-run website at no cost to the governmental unit. Though Hoosier taxpayers likely would have spent up to $475,000 to get the state website off the ground and $325,000 a year to operate it, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency.

State Rep. Jennifer Meltzer, R-Shelbyville, the sponsor of the proposal, said switching to online public notices would improve the efficiency of state agencies and local governments, make their notices more accessible, as well as save money on advertising.

But critics of the measure insisted that putting state notices on a rarely accessed, government-run website would make it harder for Hoosiers to find them, particularly those lacking the requisite online skills or broadband internet access.

"Public notice is part of the process so that the people of the community can actually have input on where their tax dollars are going," said state Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis. "You should try to use every means necessary to tell the public what you're doing with their tax dollars."

State Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, said he sees how online public notices might be the future. But he first needs to see what the website would look like, how the notices would be posted and whether Hoosiers could easily access them before he can embrace it.

Niemeyer was joined in opposition to the legislation by Northwest Indiana state Sens. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores; and Dan Dernulc, R-Highland.