LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas House of Representatives voted Wednesday morning against a bill that would have allowed certain public notices to be posted online by counties and cities.
Cecillea Pond Mayo, Chief Information Officer for the House, said that House Bill 1616 was defeated by the Committee on City, County and Local Affairs. The vote was 10 for, 5 against, and 5 not voting. She stated that 11 votes are required to pass a standing committee.
Frances Cavenaugh of the Republican Party of Walnut Ridge stated that House Bill (1616 was an amended version to House Bill 1399 that she filed February 9.
Cavenaugh stated to the committee that “Because it had undergone so many revisions, and because this is agreed upon language, we just filed another bill.”
Cavenaugh claimed that the bill’s text was agreed upon by the committee as well as the Arkansas Press Association.
Cavenaugh stated that the agreed-upon language states that nothing will change for five years. “But, in five years the cities and counties can choose to publish their notices on an independent website — all of their notices except for delinquent taxes or certifications.
“And even though they are able to print on a website they still need to print in the paper where it is available.”
Marvin Day, Craighead County’s county judge, spoke in support of the bill. Day claimed he was speaking on behalf of the Arkansas County Judges Association.
Day stated, “This has been an interesting discussion getting to the point when we feel like we all have an agreement we can live with.” “Yes, I can tell you that there are some county judges who want to say, “No, this isn’t a great deal. We could have done better.” Some newspapers will also poke their chests out and claim that they could have beaten these guys back. This is a fair deal. …
Day said that they aren’t forcing anyone to give up their newspaper, if that’s what’s best for them. This means that municipalities and counties could still place notices in newspapers if necessary.
Mark Lane, president, WEHCO Media’s newspaper section, which publishes Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette spoke against the bill. He stated that it was “anti-transparency” and not in Arkansans’ best interests.
He said, “In reality, it’s an lose-lose-lose law.” “Arkansans lose and newspapers lose. In my opinion, the government also loses. Our company cannot accept this in good conscience. It is wrong today and it will continue to be wrong in five years. This bill’s main problem is still its transparency position. But, yes, it’s also about money.
Lane explained that a quick fiscal-impact analysis was done after HB1399 became law. This study showed that the bill would help save $94,000 for counties and cities over a two year period.
He said that the impact of this legislation on Arkansas’ transparency and newspapers would be greater.
“If this bill becomes law, newspapers will shut down and employees will lose their jobs Lane said. “This bill will lead to a decrease in transparency that will be felt across the state. Studies have shown statistically significant increases in corruption in government, higher taxes, and increased borrowing costs through bonds if you lose your local newspaper. What’s the best thing for Arkansans? …
“Without legal [advertising] Arkansas newspapers can’t survive without their revenue.”
Lane claimed that it is not necessary to amend the current law.
He stated, “We’ve heard that print is dead and that notices should go online.” “Companywide, we have approximately 117,000 Arkansans who read our newspaper in the various formats. We are also aware and open to the fact that many people access information and news online. We had 2.3 million visitors and 77 million pageviews in 2022. [billion] Our digital websites receive page views. …
Lane stated, “When you combine the digital and print reach of our newspapers, it’s an unparalleled multimedia reach that provides unparalleled accessibility to all Arkansans.” This vast transparency is possible when you combine the 90 plus newspapers from Arkansas. This is why, aside from print, every public notice has been placed on replica apps, websites, and a state-run site by the Arkansas Department of Public Information for many years. [Arkansas Press Association]. This is what Arkansans and our readers deserve. They are open to all and don’t require any login, password or user name. If we can all agree that all notices should go online, as well as on a state-run website, which we already do at our newspapers, what is the real motivation behind this bill?
Arkansas Municipal League Executive Director Mark Hayes spoke out in support of the bill. Hayes stated that the five-year phased-in allowed for “plenty” of time for businesses to adapt.
“I can guarantee you that the League’s bill …” is in good hands,” he stated.
Rep. Andrew Collins, D.Little Rock, a member on the committee, said that passing the bill would be a “very unfortunate, very short-sighted” decision.
Collins said, “We are fortunate in this state to be able to have a strong free press.” Arkansas is one of the few states that has this. We know exactly what we would do with this bill. This bill will end all newspapers in the state. … While I realize that not every newspaper is against the bill, the largest — and most of them are actually represented by the same company — is strongly opposed. There are many reasons they oppose this bill, not least because of the lack of transparency. There’s the proverbial “fox guarding” the hen house. They are openly honest about how it will ruin their business and stop them from being able to invest in it further.
Collins stated that newspapers have built their business models around state statutes.
He said, “We own it.” “We own what is in the statute. We own the trust that they’ve placed in us in building our model around what we have in statute for so many years. We are about to shake it off, and disrupt the business model in such a manner that newspapers will no longer be sustainable.
Collins urged Collins to urge the committee not to vote for the bill.
Mark Lane, president and publisher of WEHCO Media’s newspaper division, spoke against House Bill 1616, which would allow counties and municipalities, rather than local newspapers, to post election notices on a web site. This was during a meeting held by the House Committee on City, County and Local Affairs at Little Rock’s state Capitol. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Stephen Swofford)