Public and legal notices are displayed inside the Wednesday edition of the Daily Journal. A Statehouse bill would make publishing of notices in newspapers one of five options within the next five years. Noah Crenshaw | Daily Journal
HOW THE COMMITTEE VOTED
Yays — Reps. Doug Miller, R-Elkhart; David Abbott, R-Rome City; Karen Engleman, R-Georgetown; Robb Greene, R-Shelbyville; Jack Jordan, R-Bremen; Michael Karickhoff, R-Kokomo; Joanna King, R-Middlebury; Timothy O’Brien, R-Evansville; Alaina Shonkwiler, R-Noblesville
Nays — Reps. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary; John Barlett, D-Indianapolis; Chris Campbell, D-West Lafayette; Earl Harris, D-East Chicago
Indiana lawmakers are again looking at making publication of public notices optional in newspapers, instead of making it one of five options.
House Bill 1283, authored by State Rep. Alex Zimmerman, R-North Vernon, would allow anyone to satisfy the state’s noticing statues by publishing notice in a newspaper or locality newspaper, including print and online; the Hoosier State Press Association public notice website; a political subdivision website; or a new state public notice website. The website would be set up for push alerts that residents can sign up for, governments could post on it for free and the Indiana Archives and Records Administration would be tasked with establishing processes for the transfer and preservation of public notices from it.
“It’s changing 200-plus years of public notice law and essentially diluting the notice and the ability for people to see notice by giving those that need to publish five different locations to put it in,” said Steve Wolff, vice president of government affairs and procurement for The Corydon Group, a lobbyist working on behalf of HSPA, in an interview.
Initially, the bill said the state website would have to launch by July 1, 2028. But an amendment approved by the committee Wednesday would phase in when governments can use the website, based on population:
July 1, 2028: Governments with a population of less than 50,000
Jan. 1, 2029: Governments with a population of less than 100,000
July 1, 2029: All governments can use the website
The bill ultimately passed out of the House Government and Regulatory Reform Committee 9-4 on Wednesday, and now goes to the House Ways and Means Committee. The bill had not been assigned a hearing before that committee by press time.
A long-standing debate
This is not the first time lawmakers have tried to make public notices optional in newspapers, as the issue has come up frequently over the last decade. Last session, HB 1312 of 2025 was proposed, which is substantially similar to HB 1283. However, HB 1283 adds the HSPA public notice website as an option.
HB 1312 of 2025 was authored by State Rep. Jennifer Meltzer, R-Shelbyville, who is a co-author of HB 1283. While that bill passed the House, it died in a Senate committee.
There are some governments and people who think publishing the notices is “a box that they have to check” and “don’t fully appreciate” that it’s a formal legal process that protects things like due process, Wolff said. Arguments for moving notices away from newspapers have included costs of publishing, but he argues that newspapers are providing a service by notifying the public.
Another argument for moving them away from newspapers involves publishing deadlines.
“There are some papers where they only publish once a week, and if you miss the deadline to get notification, then you’re set back another week on when you can begin the local project,” Wolff said. “Well, again, I would argue that the public wants to know about those projects.”
As for putting the notices on local government sites specifically, there is a concern the public won’t visit those sites regularly and could miss important notices, Wolff said.
“The thing about the newspaper is you’re finding these notices while you’re looking for information on the scores of the high school girls basketball game,” he said. “And so, I think that conversation needs to be had just about what is the purpose of public notice?”
Last year’s attempt, HB 1312 of 2025, was met with pushback from the HSPA and its member newspapers. The Daily Journal is a member of the association, along with its sister AIM Media Indiana newspapers.
Government organizations support effort
Representatives of government associations, along with the bill author, expressed support for HB 1283 before the House Government and Regulatory Reform Committee on Wednesday, arguing it would provide cost savings to governments, speed up the noticing process and improve transparency.
“It’s really a taxpayer savings bill at the end of the day,” said Zimmerman, the bill’s author.
Some committee members expressed concern about transparency and access for those without internet. Rep. Chris Campbell, D-West Lafayette, said the intent of the public notice always is transparency by having a third party provide it: newspapers. She was concerned that moving to five options, including newspapers, would take away the intent of the law and create an appearance of non-transparency.
Zimmerman disagreed, saying it would give governments more discretion. He also emphasized the bill wasn’t a “knock” on newspapers, but acknowledged the reality of how information can be found today.
Scott Bowling, executive director of the Indiana Association of School Business Officials, told the House committee the bill would free up dollars for schools and give them more flexibility. It would also be more convenient for taxpayers, potential bidders and other interested parties to find information in rural areas that have newspapers that only publish once a week, he said.
Jake German, a lobbyist representing Indiana County Commissioners, told the committee the bill was a “long-time coming.” He acknowledged there are gaps with internet access in the state, but when counties look at tax policies after property tax revenue cuts from Senate Enrolled Act 1 of 2025, removing the requirement to publish public notices in newspapers would allow governments to stretch tax dollars in the most efficient way possible, he said.
Campbell disagreed, saying while she appreciated governments trying to be fiscally responsible, more areas are becoming media deserts — areas that have no local news coverage — which hurts everyone. She said she would’ve liked to have seen more efforts to work with newspapers on the issue.
The cost savings appeared to be an overriding factor in the committee testimony. Isabel Elliott, representing Accelerate Indiana Municipalities, which represents Indiana cities and towns, said in 2024 alone, 20 governments reported spending over $144,000 on notices. As governments have to post more notices, timelines for newspapers have created challenges, she said.
“This opens up more options,” Elliott said.
Worries about transparency, accountability
While the HSPA and member newspapers understand that the goal of HB 1283 is to save money and create efficiency, they disagree on whether it would do that.
HSPA has supported many changes over the years to reduce costs. This includes when multiple public notices are needed, as not only the first notice needs to go in the newspaper. They’ve also supported legislation that would allow notices to be published on a newspaper’s website first before print publication, addressing print deadline concerns, Wolff told the committee.
Steve Wolff, a lobbyist working on behalf of the Hoosier State Press Association, testifies against House Bill 1283 before members of the House Government and Regulatory Reform Committee on Wednesday. Video screenshot
The state website would have one person managing public notices for the whole state, whereas under the current framework, newspapers have multiple people handling notices. There are at least 52 people who are public notice experts at newspapers throughout the state, he said.
Konrad LaPrade, president and CEO of Fort Wayne Newspapers and KPC Media, echoed that point.
“I know government is efficient, but I find it hard to believe — and I think this is a hidden cost in this bill — that we will be able to stand up a website with one individual, to put it together,” LaPrade said. “… [Newspapers] are incredibly efficient in what we do. This is not the kind of thing you can stand up with one person doing it. Last year alone, we corrected over 58 legals in Fort Wayne where they came to us incorrectly.”
Some parts of the state still don’t have quality broadband internet access. Wolff cited a survey for the Indiana Broadband Digital Equity Plan that said 25% of the Hoosiers don’t have internet access in his committee testimony.
HSPA wants to work with lawmakers to modernize the process, but keep independence. However, the bill hinders, rather than enhances, transparency, Wolff said.
Kathy Tretter, editor and publisher of newspapers in Dubois and Spencer counties, told the committee it seems like the state is “wanting to reinvent the wheel” when the HSPA already has a centralized website. Communities won’t want to spend money to publish the notices in newspaper in addition to a state website, she said.
Anne Durham Smith, editor of the (Greenfield) Daily Reporter, a sister newspaper of the Daily Journal, questioned whether there would be accountability for when a government failed to put notices online. As an example, the Daily Reporter sent more than 30 letters to local governments in Hancock County just to get a list of meeting notices for 2026 in December, which the paper doesn’t charge for, but had to follow up with a dozen that didn’t respond, she said.
“I just wonder with a system that allows the notification — from start to finish — to be under the umbrella of government, is the follow-up going to be and the accountability going to be, that be robust?” Smith said. “Publishing notice in newspapers has been a mechanism of external accountability and trying to shift that wholly under the umbrella of government, which is an option under this bill, away from that external accountability, should not be labeled as a move toward transparency.”
Before the committee ultimately voted, Campbell expressed more concerns about transparency, while Rep. John Bartlett, D-Indianapolis, said the bill would negatively impact seniors and people without internet access.
Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary, said it would be nice to have a bill that goes both ways — a notice in newspapers and a state website with a quick certification for those who need it.
Campbell, Bartlett and Hatcher all voted against. Rep. David Abbott, R-Rome City, said he looked forward to seeing the portal before his vote.
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