The Missouri Press Association is battling two bills. The one dealing with foreclosure notices "is identical to legislation that was voted out of committees in both the House and Senate last year before stalling. It would move foreclosure notices from newspapers to ill-defined 'internet website(s)' that would almost certainly be operated by trustees angling to profit from the notices they are required to publish before auctioning delinquent properties," Barry Smith reports for the Public Notice Resource Center. "Two of the largest trustee law firms in Missouri have been the primary proponents of the legislation."
The second bill in Missouri would require each government body to post notices on the front page of its website, if it has one, It also calls for a catchall website where the Secretary of State would publish notices for government offices that don't have a website, Smith reports. That bill is also similar to a bill that failed to pass in 2018.
"Perversely, MPA’s effort to stop these bills will be complicated by a clause in the Missouri Constitution requiring the full text of all statewide ballot measures to be published in newspapers throughout the state," Smith reports. "That provision created a political backlash after the state spent almost $6 million on notices last year due to the unusual volume and complexity of issues placed on the ballot for November’s election."
During his budget testimony last week, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican, warned the House Appropriations Committee that some newspapers had "jacked up their rates" and that if the state legislature doesn't pass the bill this year, putting out public notices for another bill next year could cost "$6 million or $7 milllion," Smith reports.
The Hoosier State Press Association is fighting a foreclosure bill similar to the one in Missouri, but the Indiana version would move foreclosure notices from newspapers to county or sheriff's websites. Bill sponsor Wendy McNamara (R-Evansville) argued the bill is necessary because she believes a few newspapers are charging too much for required publication, Smith reports.
Similar bills have been recently introduced in Colorado, Maine, North Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming. The Colorado and Wyoming bills died in committee, the Virginia bill unanimously passed the Senate last week, the North Dakota bill passed the House last week, and no action has been taken on the Maine bill.
from The Rural Blog http://bit.ly/2Sdr2Ib State press associations battle public notice bills - Entrepreneur Generations
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