Legislative sessions are always hectic, but the 2019 session is one of the busiest ever for the Texas Press Association. As of the March 8 filing deadline for regular legislation, lawmakers filed 7,081 bills. That figure does not include 1,524 resolutions covering everything from birthday congratulations to calls for constitutional amendments.
National Newspaper Association is throwing its weight behind a bill to ease the cost of obtaining federal court records. Rep. Doug Collins, R-GA, introduced the Electronic Court Records Reform Act, which will require the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to consolidate its electronic filing systems and drop the fees for general public access.
Legislative sessions are always hectic, but the 2019 session could be one of the busiest ever for the Texas Press Association.
With the bill-filing deadline for regular legislation still two weeks away as of the Messenger’s deadline, lawmakers already had filed 4,259 pieces of legislation. The total could easily top 7,000 when the filing frenzy comes to an end.
Volunteers are needed to help judge the 2019 Tennessee State Press Contests, sponsored by the University of Tennessee and the Tennessee Press Association. Judging periods begin March 25 and April 1.
Tennessee Press has two contests with two judging periods:
Editorial contest:
• Judging period starts March 25
• 45 to 50 judges needed
The Texas Ethics Commission recently revised rules regulating disclosures in online political advertising.
With what could be another challenging Texas legislative session on the horizon, now is the time to be building and cultivating relationships with lawmakers.
Guest opinion by Leonard Woolsey
The Task Force on the United States Postal System has issued its recommendations for reforming the nation’s mail service.
Texas Press Association members can learn about options for digitally archiving their newspapers at TPA’s 2019 Convention and Trade Show Jan. 24-26 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Denton Convention Center.
Digital archiving is just one topic on the agenda for the convention, the first since TPA members voted to have one annual meeting.
