community paper testimony supporting legal advertising reform

8/6/2019 Community Paper Testimony Supporting Legal Advertising Reform

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Mid-Atlantic Community Papers AssociationComments Supporting Legal Advertising Reform:

Te Ohio Model, Market-Based Competition - HB 203and Recommendations on HB 633

Pennsylvania House Local Government CommitteeMay 19, 2011

Te Mid-Atlantic Community Papers Association and our member publishers have been mak-ing the case or Legal Advertising Reorm or the last decade. We have played a constructive rolein this ongoing debate since the hearings prompted by the 197-0 passage o HR 110 in June,2001. Tat Resolution directed the House Judiciary Committee to study the publication o legalnotices, and study by way o hearings has occurred in Committees across Chambers in everysubsequent session.

And still, governing law -- itle 45 - Legal Notices -- remains as last modifed in 1976.

We consistently submit that competition rom Free Community Papers provides the option toincrease the audience notifed -- at a substantial savings. In the broadest ramework, we see theinternet and the expansion o the bona fde print marketplace as complementary -- not an either-or solution to a complex, costly system o compulsory communications.

Our neighbors in Ohio agree: A comprehensive compromise on reform is set to become law.

While progress in Pennsylvania has been consistently stymied by obstruction, Ohio has held allstakeholders eet to the fre. Teir process, and even more importantly their agreed-to reormramework, might be instructive in our own perpetual debate. In 2006, the Ohio General Assem-bly established a Public Notice ask Force -- with a mission to make reorm happen. All vestedinterests had a seat at the table, and the clear understanding that change will happen urthercompelled collaboration and compromise.


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Te Buckeye Compromise, agreed to by publishers and local government, is expected to reduce costsby up to 50%. It just passed the House as language contained in the Budget, and in the 2010 Ses-sion sailed through that Chamber 97-1 as HB 220. Te optional use o Free Community Papersis the keystone to the ramework, which also realizes the Internet plays an increasingly important

role in modern communication. Several years of discussion and research across our Western Borderyields this potential model:

eOptionaluseofFreeCommunityPaperswithauditedcirculations;

Publicnoticerequirementsbecomeconsistentacrossscoresofdierentstatutes--noprint public notice is required to be published more than twice -- and in instances where multiplepapersarerequired,nowasinglepaperwillsatisfy;

esecondnoticecanbeashortenedsummaryassmallashalfthesizeoftherstnoticewithalinkand/orpublishedaddresstoawebsitewherethecompletenoticemaybefound;

Newspapersarerequiredtooertheirlowestclassiedandinsertratestogovernmentadvertisers;

Municipalitiescanpublishsuccinctsummariesoflocalordinancesandrules--alongwith a link and/or published address to a website where the complete notice may be ound.

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Te Option of Competition - HB 203: Our preerred approach simply removes the outdated re-quirement that a publication have a fxed price per copy in order to publish Public Notice. Te corelanguage is identical to current law -- with pay-to-read wording stripped and strengthened byprovisions enhancing verifable circulations. Removing the must be paid or requirement satisfeseach o the pay-to-read lobbys arguments against the internet: We deliver ree o charge to com-munities potentially disenranchised by geography, technology and cost barriers -- including the

high hurdle o price or subscription.

And like our peers, our publishers are independent third-parties, champions o Free Enterpriseand even use the same ink and newsprint. We have attached last sessions estimony In Supporto HB 677 -- identical to current HB 203. It makes the compelling case or reorm generally, de-tailing staggering losses in both actual titles and corresponding circulations. It provides analysis ocost and reach potential by community, as well as some shocking examples o perectly legal pricegouging.


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Brief Recommendations on HB 633: We ask that the Commerce Committee please consider twocritical principles while deliberating on reorm generally and specifcally:

ReformisneededforALLmandatedadvertiserssubjecttoTitle45provisions,includ-

ing:Businesses,CitizensandSheris.Aswritten,keystakeholdersare--andmaybe--excludedrom relie.

LegalAdvertising/PublicNoticeisNOTOpenRecords:Reformshouldmaintaintheintent o active dissemination, and not merely the assurance o availability to seeker. Tis could beaddressed simply by setting digital subscription thresholds where X% o municipal residents mustbe signed up or any combination o RSS, text messaging, Facebook, witter, email or any similardigital notifcations prior to ormal authorization to publish electronically.

Additionally,weoertheseobservationsaddressingdigitalarchiving(HTMLv.PDF),and

disambiguatingthespectrum(publicmeetingsv.bids)oflegaladvertising:DigitalNoticepost-ingswouldbesubstantiallymorereliableifatimeanddatestamped.PDFleaccompaniedthe HML text, a working example would be the General Assemblys Bill Inormation websiteormat. And fnally, all legal advertising/public notice is not equal -- business ormation notice,estatenotice,bidnotice,recruitmentnotice,asprimaryexamples,servesignicantlydierentfunc-tions than municipal meetings and proposed budgets. Some orms are particularly well suited orconsolidatedcountyorstate-leveldatabasewebsites,othersoermaximumexposureandcostsav-ings with summary notice in print directing readers to the website hosting the unabridged notice.

MACPA and our member publishers appreciate the opportunity to share our relevant perspectiveon this legislation, and look orward to providing constructive input as Legal Advertising Reormcontinues to move orward.

Respectully Submitted,

Jim HaighGovernment Relations ConsultantMid-Atlantic Community Papers Association

[email protected]

community paper testimony supporting legal advertising reform

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