Public Notice Bill is Necessary; GPA off base

In the July 15 InsiderAdvantage oped “Forget public notice bill – there’s already a venue,”  President Mesha Wind of the Georgia Press Association (GPA) argues that Senate Bill 186 is “unnecessary.”  The author asserts that there is no reason to allow local governments the option of posting public notices on an internet site instead of publishing them in local legal organ newspapers because GPA publishes all these notices on GeorgiaPublicNotice.com free of charge.

That sounds good on the surface, but it sidesteps the point.

ACCG–– Georgia’s County Association– believes that public notices are necessary to ensure citizen awareness of, and involvement with, their government.  It’s just good government.  While we commend the GPA internet page for centralizing notices, unfortunately this does not accomplish the underlying purpose of SB 186: removing the mandate that taxpayers first pay local newspapers substantial amounts annually to print public notices in newspapers before they ever reach the GPA site.

ACCG supports SB 186, believing it is necessary to modernize this antiquated notice requirement in state law, enable competition among vendors, save taxpayer dollars, and maintain transparency.

Under the bill, local governments could opt to post some or all of their public notices on their internet site in lieu of, or in addition to, printing them in the local paper.  Or, local governments could hire a third party vendor to post notices so long as the notices are linked on the front page of the local government site.  No local government would be required to post notices electronically, nor maintain their own website for that matter.

This opens competition, thus providing counties options to what is now a monopolized service by the local paper – a paper which elected county commissioners have absolutely no say in selecting or the price being charged.  Folks often urge government to run like a business, cutting expenditures when budgets get tight.  We believe that competition, which is sorely lacking under Georgia’s current system, would allow counties to do just that by reducing public notice costs.

Furthermore, nothing in SB 186 “dismisses” newspapers from continuing to print or post these notices and maintain their rightful role as the public’s purveyors of transparency.  The only change would be that taxpayers would no longer be required to subsidize these papers on the front end by paying to have these notices printed; nor would the public have to pay subscriptions to these newspapers to receive the printed notice.

The legislation contains numerous safeguards to ensure continued local government transparency, compliance and record keeping, and even requires locals to send notices via e-mail or regular mail to those who request it.  All electronic notices must, at a minimum, follow the same time schedule and content specifications currently required in law.  To address one of GPA’s most recurring concerns, ACCG would fully support amending the bill to include allowing an independent third-party verification system. That would further ensure that all letters of current law are followed in the notification process – so long as the vendor, and the price, are open to competition.

ACCG continues to partner with our state to lessen the fiscal burden on counties and we have made great strides over the past decade in reducing or eliminating costly, duplicative and outmoded statutory requirements.  SB 186 is another, necessary step in this direction.  While we remain committed to working with the General Assembly, the press and other stakeholders to address any safeguards needed to avoid any real or perceived diminishment of transparency in SB 186, we respectfully oppose maintaining the current and costly outmoded system.

Make no mistake about it.  At this debate’s core are not only the often-espoused concerns with the bill.  These can be fixed with meaningful input from all sides.  The underlying angst centers on whether it is the rightful role of Georgia’s taxpayers to continue subsidizing print media in an industry that has largely become digital.  Many counties may see the value in the pay-to-print mandate to keep their hometown newspapers afloat.  Senate Bill 186 allows this.  On the other hand, those wishing to explore alternative measures should have the option to do so.

County commissioners are elected and accountable to the constituents they serve.  ACCG believes SB 186 is necessary because it allows commissioners to make the best determination in preserving limited taxpayer resources while maintaining an open and transparent public notice process.

Todd Edwards is the Associate Legislative Director of ACCG – Georgia’s County Association