MADISON (AP) - Wisconsin legislators are again weighing whether to allow local governments and school boards to post more legal notices online in lieu of printing in newspapers.
The issue has surfaced every few years, leading to some revisions in the state's existing laws, which require publication of ordinances, meeting notices, school board minutes, alcohol license applications and other notices. A legislative study committee now plans to take up the issue more comprehensively at a meeting on July 26.
"There's no question that the internet has dramatically changed the way people get information," said Sen. Mark Miller, a Monona Democrat and vice-chair of the committee. "We want to try to make use of that capacity to improve public notices."
Many school boards and local governments favor moving toward more online notices because it has the potential to reach people more easily and saves them money. But the Wisconsin Newspaper Association has opposed previous legislative efforts, saying many people still rely on newspapers for information.
"I think that we are wrestling with, at all units of government, how to reach people in an age where we're moving from paper to paperless," said Dan Rossmiller, Wisconsin Association of School Boards' director of government relations.
Newspapers also make money from the publication fees for notices. A League of Wisconsin Municipalities survey showed municipalities spent on average about $5,500 in 2003, ranging from $36 in the Village of Ironton to $113,000 in Madison.
League of Wisconsin Municipalities Assistant Director Curt Witynski said in the past they've reached compromises with the newspaper association over ways to adapt. The WNA launched a website in 2005 to provide all published notices online in addition to print, a facet executive director Beth Bennett said she plans to highlight for the study committee.
"It's important for everyone to remember that the reason newspapers were chosen historically back in the beginning of our country to be the vehicles for government notices is it provides a system of checks and balances," Bennett said.
With continued advances in technology, Witynski said he thinks there might be more momentum for change this time around.
About 80 percent of Wisconsin residents live in households with high-speed internet, according to a 2013 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey. But there are still people who don't have easy internet access or choose not to use it.
A 2010 survey commissioned by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association found nearly 78 percent of residents believed state and local government should be required to publish legal and public notices in the newspaper on a regular basis.
Rossmiller said any changes need to be a "balancing act" that factors in declining newspaper readership and areas with spotty internet or older populations who might not be able to access the notifications online.
"There are some people that are concerned, if you move too fast or too far in the direction of internet connectivity, you may leave some people behind," Rossmiller said.
Rossmiller, Bennett and Witynski will speak in front of the study committee July 26, along with other representatives from their organizations and the Wisconsin Towns Association.
The issue has surfaced every few years, leading to some revisions in the state's existing laws, which require publication of ordinances, meeting notices, school board minutes, alcohol license applications and other notices. A legislative study committee now plans to take up the issue more comprehensively at a meeting on July 26.
"There's no question that the internet has dramatically changed the way people get information," said Sen. Mark Miller, a Monona Democrat and vice-chair of the committee. "We want to try to make use of that capacity to improve public notices."
Many school boards and local governments favor moving toward more online notices because it has the potential to reach people more easily and saves them money. But the Wisconsin Newspaper Association has opposed previous legislative efforts, saying many people still rely on newspapers for information.
"I think that we are wrestling with, at all units of government, how to reach people in an age where we're moving from paper to paperless," said Dan Rossmiller, Wisconsin Association of School Boards' director of government relations.
Newspapers also make money from the publication fees for notices. A League of Wisconsin Municipalities survey showed municipalities spent on average about $5,500 in 2003, ranging from $36 in the Village of Ironton to $113,000 in Madison.
League of Wisconsin Municipalities Assistant Director Curt Witynski said in the past they've reached compromises with the newspaper association over ways to adapt. The WNA launched a website in 2005 to provide all published notices online in addition to print, a facet executive director Beth Bennett said she plans to highlight for the study committee.
"It's important for everyone to remember that the reason newspapers were chosen historically back in the beginning of our country to be the vehicles for government notices is it provides a system of checks and balances," Bennett said.
With continued advances in technology, Witynski said he thinks there might be more momentum for change this time around.
About 80 percent of Wisconsin residents live in households with high-speed internet, according to a 2013 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey. But there are still people who don't have easy internet access or choose not to use it.
A 2010 survey commissioned by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association found nearly 78 percent of residents believed state and local government should be required to publish legal and public notices in the newspaper on a regular basis.
Rossmiller said any changes need to be a "balancing act" that factors in declining newspaper readership and areas with spotty internet or older populations who might not be able to access the notifications online.
"There are some people that are concerned, if you move too fast or too far in the direction of internet connectivity, you may leave some people behind," Rossmiller said.
Rossmiller, Bennett and Witynski will speak in front of the study committee July 26, along with other representatives from their organizations and the Wisconsin Towns Association.