State’s new legal notice law brings transparency to local government
If you’re reading this, you’re probably doing it online. Sure, some of you will be doing so in Monday’s print edition of the Sun Sentinel, but not as many as will click on a link. But as news readership moves online, local governments’ communications with constituents were being left behind in the recycling bin with the old newspapers. As of Jan. 1, 2023, state law has finally caught up with readership.
A 2021 Pew Research study revealed that 82% of U.S. adults get news from a smartphone, computer or tablet “sometimes” or “often”; 49% of surveyed adults said they do so “often.” These statistics are far from surprising at a time when digital media consumption is at an all-time high even as massive layoffs take place at traditional print newspapers.
Before the internet age, the newspaper’s classified section was the only way to receive municipal legal notices — anything from council meeting dates to requests for bids from contractors. Indeed, state law required that this information be advertised in a widely circulated newspaper. Newspapers were the most effective way to disseminate information before the internet. Now, the already low and declining rates of print newspaper circulation are reaching only a fraction of people in a geographic area. With the widespread use of technology across all generations, publishing notices in a newspaper of general circulation is not the most effective way to convey information to residents; besides, the cost of doing so falls on none other than you, the taxpayers.
House Bill 7049, approved in the 2022 legislative session on a mostly party-line vote, allows government agencies the ability to publish legal notices on a publicly accessible, county-owned website, overhauling the mandate to publish the notices in the newspaper.
Under the law, which went into effect with the new year, legal notices must be placed on the website’s homepage. Those without internet access were not left behind. The law contains a provision — applicable to government agencies that have at least three-quarters of their population located in a county with fewer than 160,000 people — stating that a public hearing must be held to determine if the residents have sufficient access to the internet.
The changes to the law will result in cost savings for taxpayers and give the public what they deserve: instant access to information impacting them.
Now, people will find legal notices on the websites of their municipal governments instead of the classified ads section of their local paper or the hard-to-navigate Florida Press Association website.
The new law is considerate of the differences of each municipality because it does not prohibit municipalities from placing notices in newspapers if they deem it to be appropriate.
Critics of the bill, consisting primarily of Democratic legislators, said that Republicans are using this bill to punish the media for not going along with their narrative. At the same time, Republicans cited increased transparency and that small publishers should not rely on revenue from notices to survive. In the ever-polarized climate that is the Florida Legislature, there is, sadly, less bipartisan legislation.
Many of Florida’s laws relating to open government are outdated, and HB 7049 was unfairly politicalized. The public should view the bill as it was written: a common-sense reform that will save taxpayers millions of dollars annually. With a looming recession, municipal governments should be able to post public notices cost-effectively while ensuring the government is open to the people, a fundamental aspect of the Florida Constitution.