Interim committee supports newspaper notice

Public notices in newspapers remain a key element of government transparency and accountability, according to an influential legislative committee assigned to study the issue.

The Joint Interim Committee on Advertising Public Notices recommended that newspapers remain the cornerstone of public notice in Texas and called for a “more is better” approach to informing the public.

 The Nov. 1 committee report was the product of an Aug. 18 hearing into the question of whether newspapers are still an appropriate home for public notices.

Over the past decade, numerous bills have been filed by legislators seeking to eliminate or weaken legal requirements for public notices in newspapers. Authors of the bills claimed newspaper publication is too expensive in an era of declining print circulation. They have suggested that governmental entities be allowed to meet legal requirements by posting notices on their own governmental websites.

Texas Press Association members have countered that newspapers enjoy much greater readership than governmental websites, and that newspaper notices are not only printed, but are placed online on newspaper’s websites and an aggregate TPA-sponsored website at no extra cost to taxpayers.

Publishers have consistently stressed the importance of newspapers’ third-party verification and archives.

They maintain that newspaper critics inflate the costs by including spending for other governmental advertising that isn’t required by law.

Publishers, private citizens and representatives of civic organizations testified in August that “more is better” when it comes to public notice. That argument resonated with members of the committee.

“The committee recommends that the legislature maintain the current print requirement, distinguish the costs of public notice from other types of advertising costs, create an additional notification system through the Office of the Comptroller, and further study the question of fulfilling print requirement through third-party media outlets online, should all local print options cease print operations,” the panel said in its executive summary to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus.

The committee noted that newspapers are “a third party who both creates a lasting and reliable record of the notice and acts as a gatekeeper to ensure that governments post their notices correctly.”

The report went on to say that while newspapers’ print circulation has declined, “the online presence of these third-party media organizations has increased dramatically…indicating that they still maintain a relevance across the general public.”

The committee suggested legislators continue to study the issue, “as in the near future there may come a time when the print requirement no longer serves the needs of the people. In such a circumstance, however, the necessity of placing the notice with a local, third-party media organization likely remains.”

In suggesting that the comptroller’s office also provide digital notice, the committee took pains to say that should not be considered a substitute for newspapers.

“This system will exist alongside the current system, providing a second avenue of notice and ensuring that interested citizens will have another means of receiving notices that concern them, while maintaining the third-party accountability and general distribution of local media outlets.

“It must be made clear that the website and the email alert system do not satisfy the public notice requirement, but merely enhance the state’s overall system of providing notice,” the report said.

“We’re very pleased that the committee came down squarely on the side of transparency and accountability by recommending that notices remain in Texas newspapers,” said Bill Patterson, publisher of the Denton Record-Chronicle and chair of TPA’s Legislative Advisory Committee. “Our side presented compelling evidence that Texans pay close attention to the notices in their hometown paper…both in print and online.”

The committee was chaired by Sen. Konni Burton, R-Fort Worth, and Rep. J.M. Lozano, R-Kingsville. Other members of the committee included:

• Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin

• Rep. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio

• Sen. Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso

• Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston

• Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills

• Rep. Gary Elkins, R-Houston

• Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock

• Rep. Roberto Alonzo, D-Dallas

• Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi

• Rep. Alma Allen, D-Houston

•Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, and

• Rep. Travis Clardy, R-Nacogdoches.

A complete copy of the public notice committee report is available on TPA’s website at http://texaspress.com/sites/default/files/Joint_Interim_Report.pdf.