Governments work for us. When we voice our concerns and our lawmakers listen, they deserve praise!
We editorialized recently about our strong opposition to House Bill 368, which relates to public notice advertising. The bill looks to remove public notices in the paper with and place them on government websites.
The bill passed a House Committee and later the full House. It’s now awaiting Senate action.
State Rep. David Hale, who represents Montgomery County, voted no.
When reached by the Advocate he said, “My main reason for voting no on that specific bill is I believe in my area, especially my legislative district and the areas surrounding, local papers in my opinion provide a vital service to the citizens of their communities. I realize and know that especially with older citizens, many times they don’t have computers and there are several places that don’t have adequate internet to use these services.
Hale added, “Our seniors really rely on local papers to get their information, to get news stories, debt notices, local sports outcomes and things of that nature.”
Hale emphasized that “Still, in the rural areas of Kentucky, newspapers provide a vital service.”
We couldn’t agree more!
While we live in an on-the-go society with information at our fingertips via cellphones, not everyone has access. The Fiscal Court here has been working to get broadband service to virtually all Montgomery County residents for the past couple of years. That project still continues.
During COVID when students were working from home, various WIFI spots were set up throughout the community for students without internet access to utilize.
Sen. Greg Elkins has assured the Advocate while the bill has not yet made it to the Senate floor, his vote will be no.
“I will not support any piece of legislation that is detrimental to any of our local news publications. I do not favor any legislation that inhibits or reduces government transparency. It is critical that the constituency have the ability to be informed if they so choose. I appreciate local newspapers and local radio. I will not support HB 368 or any other legislation that reduces transparency or limits the people of the commonwealth of Kentucky’s ability to be informed.”
This bill doesn’t promote transparency at all.
Need an example? As a newspaper, we let our readers know well in advance if an agency plans to discuss something that could greatly impact your paycheck, such as a tax increase.
Why? The public has a right to be informed! We want our residents to be have ample notice so they can attend meetings and share their concerns or ask questions before agencies vote on a matter.
The paper also attends these various government meetings—school board, city council, fiscal court, etc., and provides detailed followup coverage.
This bill opens the door for decisions to be made quietly, with little public input. The less transparent governments are, the less we know and the less our readers know!
In a world that rushes to social media for information (that often isn’t accurate), newspapers are never more important. While the revenue from these notices isn’t an astronomical amount, newspapers are struggling to stay afloat with dwindling numbers of staff members and busy deadlines, but a mission that remains the same—to serve as the community’s watchdog and provide reliable, factual information.
Hale’s vote was the right move and we trust Elkins to do the same. We commend them both for their support. Like Hale said, a paper’s role in its community is vital!
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