Monday, February 20, 2012

HB 2403 Is Dead

by Representative David Stevens

The BIG PRESS monopoly on Public Notices lives for another day.

HB2403 is dead. The bill that was being drafted to address the BIG PRESS monopoly of public notices died in committee on a 2-5 vote. While I will admit the bill was not in useable form, we were working toward language that would have started addressing the one-sided and outdated requirement that only paper publishers can handle public notices. With the movement to the internet and electronic media it is only logical to revisit statutes that have been in effect since the start of this country and state. There are nearly 300 pages of regulations that deal with the format and frequency of the notices. This will be revisited in the future.

There was plenty of testimony on how the founding fathers praised the newspaper and “selected” them as the bearer of the news. Let’s try to forget that the internet, radio, and television had not been invented yet. The lobbyists were quick to discount this fact.

There was a lot of talk of distrust of the government (most of that I share) and only a 3rd party publication can be trusted to provide the vital information.

There was a lot of talk how the printed copy is the best way to reach all of the people. I questioned an individual on the data that attempted to show 75% of the people of this state look at a paper at least twice a week and I asked him what the percent he would accept was. His answer was 50% + 1. The information provided to me on the subscription rate throughout the state is around 18%. (the numbers just don’t add up).

Read the rest of the article at Prescott eNews

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