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Newspapers most practical way for public notice postings
What does state Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, have to hide?
The question arises from Biggs' dogged determination to try to push through legislation that would eliminate requiring public notices to be published in newspapers.
Although the original bill he sponsored this session was defeated in a committee earlier, last week he came back again, stripping a bill that dealt with international recognition of handicapped parking permits and substituting it with his measure about public notices. Fortunately, this effort was also defeated.
Instead of requiring the notices be printed in newspapers, Biggs' idea is to put the notices on the Web. But they're already there. As part of their publication in newspapers, the notices are consolidated and posted on the Arizona Newspapers Association Web site - www.PublicNoticeAds.com. There, public notice information from around the state can be accessed at no charge.
To be clear, public notices are advertisements. Newspapers get paid to run them, much like classified advertising. In an industry that's already on the ropes, losing public notice advertising could be the death knell for some newspapers serving smaller communities.
Beyond that, the idea that such things as articles of incorporation or public notices from government entities can be posted on government Web sites is suspicious. It's like giving a drunk the keys to the liquor cabinet.
A governmental entity might not intentionally try to hide the information in a public notice on its Web site, but it would be easy enough to do. Plenty of us also have horror stories about government bureaucracies.An attitude of doing the least amount of work possible while providing no impetus for customer service.
Biggs' idea could combine those two elements.
The very name "public notice" defines what they should be - an attempt to get a notice to the public. That's precisely what newspapers are in business to do; get information to the public.
Public notices date back to the Middle Ages when proclamations from the King of England would be read on the streets of London. They moved into print in the mid 1600s. In the United States the requirement to print public notices in newspapers was among the decisions made by the first session of Congress in 1789.
While other forms of communications have come along, the printed version has been the most practical for disseminating the information in public notices. And in rural communities like ours, not everyone has access to a computer. Moreover, printing allows precise legal language and terminology that is permanent. Notices can't be altered with the click of a mouse.
So while we are happy to see Biggs' defeat - again - we wonder what is really behind his efforts.
The question arises from Biggs' dogged determination to try to push through legislation that would eliminate requiring public notices to be published in newspapers.
Although the original bill he sponsored this session was defeated in a committee earlier, last week he came back again, stripping a bill that dealt with international recognition of handicapped parking permits and substituting it with his measure about public notices. Fortunately, this effort was also defeated.
Instead of requiring the notices be printed in newspapers, Biggs' idea is to put the notices on the Web. But they're already there. As part of their publication in newspapers, the notices are consolidated and posted on the Arizona Newspapers Association Web site - www.PublicNoticeAds.com. There, public notice information from around the state can be accessed at no charge.
To be clear, public notices are advertisements. Newspapers get paid to run them, much like classified advertising. In an industry that's already on the ropes, losing public notice advertising could be the death knell for some newspapers serving smaller communities.
Beyond that, the idea that such things as articles of incorporation or public notices from government entities can be posted on government Web sites is suspicious. It's like giving a drunk the keys to the liquor cabinet.
A governmental entity might not intentionally try to hide the information in a public notice on its Web site, but it would be easy enough to do. Plenty of us also have horror stories about government bureaucracies.An attitude of doing the least amount of work possible while providing no impetus for customer service.
Biggs' idea could combine those two elements.
The very name "public notice" defines what they should be - an attempt to get a notice to the public. That's precisely what newspapers are in business to do; get information to the public.
Public notices date back to the Middle Ages when proclamations from the King of England would be read on the streets of London. They moved into print in the mid 1600s. In the United States the requirement to print public notices in newspapers was among the decisions made by the first session of Congress in 1789.
While other forms of communications have come along, the printed version has been the most practical for disseminating the information in public notices. And in rural communities like ours, not everyone has access to a computer. Moreover, printing allows precise legal language and terminology that is permanent. Notices can't be altered with the click of a mouse.
So while we are happy to see Biggs' defeat - again - we wonder what is really behind his efforts.
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