Keep public notices public | Editorial
A bill by Doug Mastriano would remove public notices from newspapers, limiting access to important information like budget proposals, zoning changes, and proposed tax increases.
When we last left Doug Mastriano, the far-right Republican state senator from Franklin County had mercifully lost the 2022 election for governor in a landslide.
Voters roundly rejected Mastriano because he was full of bad ideas.
Recall how he wanted to suppress votes, slash education funding, and criminally charge women who had abortions with murder. He also promoted QAnon conspiracy theories, did business with an antisemite, dressed up in a Confederate uniform, and fueled Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Now, Mastriano — who remains on the government payroll as a legislator making $106,422 a year — is back with a bad bill designed to limit public information for all Pennsylvanians and hurt the free press.
Senate Bill 194 would allow local governments and school districts to advertise public notices on their own websites instead of in print newspapers and digital sites.
This runs counter to good government and long-standing precedent.
Removing notices from newspapers limits the public’s access to important information such as budget proposals, proposed tax increases, zoning changes, sales of water utilities, school closures, and environmental plans.
The measure would also reduce government transparency and accountability, as it would hamper the public’s ability to know what their elected officials are up to in advance of decisions that could impact their safety, welfare, and pocketbooks.
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To be sure, The Inquirer has a vested interest in opposing this bill. It could result in lost revenue for this newspaper and other papers across the state, which could further impact the ability to cover state and local governments and school boards.
That is partly the intent of Mastriano and other lawmakers who support this measure. They would prefer less sunlight on their daily business — such as Mastriano’s recent proposals to create an Elon Musk-style Department of Government Efficiency in Harrisburg and require all public schools to display the Ten Commandments.
It is no secret that many newspapers have struggled as the internet upended the traditional business model, and more people turned to social media to get their information — and disinformation.
Lawmakers like Mastriano and Trump have seized on the upheaval to spread misinformation and denigrate the media. Trump has spewed lies, threatened news organizations, filed lawsuits, and called the media the “enemy of the people.” Mastriano largely avoids the free press — which the founders considered so essential to democracy that they enshrined it in the First Amendment.
The media is far from perfect, but it serves an important watchdog role in keeping the public informed and engaged in government affairs. Publishing government notices in newspapers is one way to do that.
Putting the notices just on government or school board sites is not a viable alternative, as information there is often out of date or difficult to find.
For example, the website for Franklin Township in Carbon County still lists Tom Wolf as governor and Pat Toomey and Bob Casey as Pennsylvania’s two U.S. senators. Wolf and Toomey left office in 2023, and Casey lost his election last year.
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Terry Mutchler is listed as the contact for the state’s open records office, where the public would go to file Right-to-Know requests. She left the office 10 years ago.
Trusting governments and school boards to list timely public notices, especially involving controversial issues, is a temptation for chicanery. Placing the notices solely on each township, borough, county, or school board site would also require individuals to search multiple locations to find the information.
Publishing public notices in newspapers has worked for decades. But there is room for improvement. That’s why the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association (PNA) supports House Bill 1291, a measure designed to modernize the Newspaper Advertising Act.
The bill, sponsored by State Rep. Robert Freeman (D., Northampton), would keep public notices in printed newspapers, while also requiring their publication online, in front of newspaper paywalls, and on the statewide public notice website managed by PNA at no cost to taxpayers.
A 2022 survey conducted for PNA found that 92% of registered voters in Pennsylvania supported requiring public notices to be published in print editions of local newspapers.
Mastriano’s bill goes against public support and would leave taxpayers in the dark. Freeman’s bill does the opposite. Readers can contact state lawmakers at www.palegis.us/find-my-legislator.