Our View — Publishing public notices in newspapers provides transparency

Transparency has become a buzzword for those who spend our tax dollars. Especially for those who are running for an elected position that controls how those tax dollars are spent.

They promise to be a watchdog and cut out wasteful spending and be up front and public with their decisions. Some follow through, others push to the side those thoughts once they’re elected and in charge of the purse strings.

A politician once told us they are elected to vote how they believe, and not what the majority of their constituents want. Those kinds of statements are what leads citizens to not trust our government. Someone is elected to do the will of the people, not govern as a dictator.

Transparency has been under attack by some elected officials in Jefferson City for several years. This year is no different when it comes to changing, and in some cases, eliminating, public notices. We have been fortunate those attacks haven’t come from our Southeast Missouri elected leaders.

The Missouri Senate and House (House Bill 1948/SB 938) have introduced a bill that would modify the state requirements of notice for sale of an operator of self-service storage facility for the sale of personal property of an occupant in default. In addition to advertising in the classified section of a newspaper prior to sale, the operator may also and instead advertise in any other commercially reasonable manner. The advertisement is commercially reasonable if at least three independent bidders attend the sale.

Sen. Justin Brown, R-Rolla, is chairman of the Senate Emerging Issues committee and sponsor of SB 938, a Senate bill similar to HB 1948.

Public notices must be published by an independent party, accessible to the public, authenticated by the publisher, capable of being archived in a secure and accessible format, and transparent.

Allowing officials to post public notices on websites only will eliminate a certain portion of Missouri residents. A recent conversation with Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, who is running for governor, turned to public notices. He was encouraged to keep current public notice laws in place.

Kehoe agreed when it was shared that not all Missouri residents have reliable internet, or access to internet at all. He said he was on the side of newspapers and would continue to stand behind current public notice laws.

We encourage all state lawmakers to side with Missouri taxpayers and keep public notices in newspapers and on their websites. Newspapers serve as an authentic record of publication and provide sworn affidavits that public notices were published along with physical ink-on-paper tearsheets of the notice as proof that it was printed in the newspaper. Internet websites notify no one and can prove nothing with authenticity.

The printed newspaper, and now online versions, provide a reliable method to get the word out to taxpayers. The public knows where to look for the notices. The newspaper and our website have been the gathering place for news and information for decades, and people can trust that it’s verified before publication. Allowing any agency that receives taxpayer money to place the public notice on a website without verification is opening the door for potential fraud.

Our Founding Fathers didn’t always agree with what was written in newspapers, just like today’s elected officials. But they had the foresight to include “the press” in the First Amendment. Not the second, third or fourth. They understood the role of the press, even though it shined a bright, and oftentimes hot, light on their work.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”