Don't let government turn public notices into a
NEEDLE IN THE HAYSTACK
5 reasons to contact your legislator and ask them to vote NO on HB680
1. Threat to Government Transparency:
The proposed bill would restrict government transparency by granting excessive discretion to officials in choosing where to disseminate public notices, which leads to ...
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2. Risk to Community Access:
Shifting public notices away from newspapers to unspecified "websites" poses a risk to community access, as it's unclear how citizens will locate this information. This could particularly affect vulnerable populations with limited internet access or digital literacy.
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3. Monopoly on Charges:
The proposed law would grant clerks of court a monopoly on charges for public notices without imposing similar restrictions on newspaper media (which have low, capped rates), potentially leading to increased costs for local governments and taxpayers without evidence of cost savings.
4. Threat to Local News:
By allowing government entities to control information dissemination and potentially influence newspaper coverage -- or cause them to close, the proposed legislation threatens the integrity of the local news ecosystem, which plays a vital role in holding governments accountable and serving communities.
5. Negative Impact on Communities:
Research shows that communities experiencing newspaper loss suffer adverse systemic effects, including more government waste, local corruption, and poor performance in schools. Passing this law could exacerbate these issues and harm the health of communities.
Contact legislators on the House and Governmental Affairs committee and tell them to stop this bad bill
HB 680 will limit transparency and cost communities more in the long run, open up the government to lawsuits, decrease governmental oversight, and provide less access than the current notice system.
Consider this:
86%
Of Louisianans read public notices in local print and digital newspapers
72%
Of Louisiana residents believe government should be required to publish public notices in newspaper media
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88%
Of Louisiana residents cite local newspapers and their websites as their most trusted source of public notices
#1
Louisiana newspapers and websites ranked No. 1 for being relied on for local government news, nearly double government websites