As the City of Mount Vernon is contemplating the cessation of publishing public notices in the Mount Vernon News, the reality of how such a law allowing the cessation of publishing public notices came to be bears further inspection.
Legal advertisements were a legal requirement in newspapers for decades until Governor Mike DeWine signed a budget provision in June 2023, eliminating the practice.
The law, embedded in the 6,198-page state budget bill, became effective on October 3, making Ohio one of only two states, the other being Florida, eliminating the practice.
The Public Notice Resource Center has criticized the process, highlighting the lack of a robust debate on the changes before their enactment.
"Sneaking controversial, non-germane provisions into a humongous spending bill at the last minute is an opaque tactic practiced by many legislatures to bypass opposition to controversial measures,” the organization said.
The Public Notice Resource Center expressed concern about the potential impact on government transparency.
Ohio's law permits municipalities to publish notices on the Ohio News Media Association’s website, but according to the association's President and Executive Director Monica Nieporte, that website does not currently have the functionality for such direct publication.
Nieporte and the ONMA were unaware the legislation had even been passed until much later.
Critics, including The Intelligencer, a newspaper based in Wheeling, West Virginia, argue that this move is part of an ongoing attempt to limit the public's access to government actions, characterizing it as the "latest assault" on transparency.
Legal advertisements, which were mandated by Ohio law until now, played a crucial role in ensuring local governments conducted business openly, disclosing information on public projects, property sales, and other matters.
“The process now will be replaced with options that include allowing local municipalities to publish notices on their municipal website, or worse, on social channels,” The Intelligencer wrote.
“Without any guarantee of transparency, it will become convenient for government officials to withhold the public’s business and information — from the public.”
“The new law serves only to further limit the public’s ability to keep track of government business and for bidders to fairly compete on projects. That’s wrong.”
The Intelligencer is advocating for the repeal of the law, emphasizing the potential for reduced transparency and limitations on the public's ability to track government business and for bidders to compete fairly on projects.
The Public Notice Resource Center contends that legal advertisements in newspapers are vital for promoting government transparency and preventing officials from concealing information.
They argue that mandating independent newspapers to publish public notices is essential, especially considering the digital divide challenges faced by individuals in rural areas, older demographics, lower-income groups, and those without high-school diplomas.
“This is not about ‘newspapers vs the internet.’ It’s newspapers and newspaper websites vs government websites and newspaper websites have a much larger audience. Moving notice from newspapers to government websites would reduce the presence of public notices on the internet,” the Public Notice Resource Center noted in a handout on the issue.
The ongoing debate is likely to have significant implications for the future of government transparency in Mount Vernon, which has placed legislation on the matter on its agenda for third reading in the Nov. 27 City Council meeting, and beyond.
