A first hurdle was cleared this week in a decade-long fight by newspaper publishers to keep public notices in front of the public with a victory for HB 156 on the floor of the North Carolina House of Representatives. This vote followed a unanimous J-3 committee vote last week.
Representative Ted Davis Jr. (R-New Hanover) co-chairs the J-3Â committee.
Coming in close succession, state Sen. Tom Apodaca (R-Henderson) also took a meaningful next step on behalf of open and transparent government last week when he signed on as a primary sponsor of a Senate bill also preserving the publication of public notices in newspapers.
Apodaca, who chairs the Rules Committee, joined Sens. Norm Sanderson of Arapahoe and Ralph Hise of Spruce Pine in his early support of the bill.
Like HB 156, modeled after a bill enacted by the Florida Legislature in 2012, Senate Bill 129 preserves the requirement that cities and counties publish notices about rezonings, economic development incentives and other public matters in a local newspaper in advance of government action on such matters.
The League of Municipalities and the state Association of County Commissioners have sought to change state law and move public notices to their own government websites.
Supporters of the House and Senate legislation have said the change would weaken the public’s right to know. They argue no one surfs the Internet looking for public notices, a homeowner or his or her neighbor runs across them on the way to and from the crossword puzzle and the yard sale ads.
The counties Apodaca represents have at least eight newspapers of record that benefit from public notices. New Hanover County has four. While publications remain viable with revenues from public notices, publishers have said their economic interest is secondary to the interest of the people and their right to know about and speak on actions their governments propose to take — in public hearings, on utility increases, CAMA notices, delinquent tax lien notices, whether it’s spending tax money to attract industry, annexing new territory, closing a road, rezoning property or selling public land.
The North Carolina Press Association has for two years pushed for a bill that would settle the ongoing debate.
A compromise bill, sponsored in the House by Rep. Marilyn Avila (R-Wake), cosponsored by Davis, passed the House Monday night with a 115 to 4 vote, allowing cities and counties a price break on ads they are required to publish more than once, and requiring newspapers to also run the print ads for free on websites. Rep. Rick Catlin (R-New Hanover) and Rep. Susi Hamilton (D-New Hanover and Brunswick) along with Davis voted in favor of Avila’s bill.
The Goldsboro News Argus and the North Carolina Press Association contributed to this story.
