Local Government Advertising Measure Moves Forward

This week, several measures were advanced in the Senate, including one that would provide local governments needed flexibility when it comes to complying with legal advertising requirements, according to Senator Bob Regola (R-39).

The Senate Appropriations Committee, on which Senator Regola serves as a member, unanimously approved Senate Bill 428, legislation that provides for the use of community newspapers as a means of providing legal notices under requirements set by state law.

Currently state law requires that all official and legal advertising notices be published in:

§         Newspapers of general circulation, or a newspaper issued daily, or not less than once a week, intended for general distribution and circulation, and sold at fixed prices per copy per week, per month, or per annum, to subscribers and readers without regard to business, trade, profession or class;

§         Official newspapers, or a newspaper designated by a government unit for the publication of notices and statements required by rule, order, resolution, or ordinance;

§         Legal newspapers.

SB 428 adds community papers of mass dissemination to this list, and permits any government entity, at its discretion, to publish notice in these types of papers in substitution of publication in a newspaper.  A community paper of mass dissemination is a newspaper that meets one of the following criteria:  is distributed through the U.S. mail to entire local zip codes; or, is distributed by audited carriers to all known addresses within a political subdivision.

The bill does not change the law with respect to the obligation to publish a legal notice in a legal newspaper when such obligation exists under current law.

            “This legislation is another example of our on-going efforts to help municipalities save money while improving operations,” said Sen. Regola, who serves as Chairman of the Senate Local Government Committee.  “As a former township supervisor, I know first-hand how cumbersome and expensive the legal advertising can be.  If we want local governments to operate more like a business, we need to provide them with the flexibility they need to do their jobs without being constrained by too much red tape.”

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Contact:  Nathan Silcox (717) 787-6063