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Editorial: The fine print

It should come as no surprise in a state where lawmakers like to operate in the dark - especially late at night, when they can award themselves pay hikes - that a bill in Harrisburg aims to make it harder for Pennsylvanians to follow what their elected officials are up to.

It should come as no surprise in a state where lawmakers like to operate in the dark - especially late at night, when they can award themselves pay hikes - that a bill in Harrisburg aims to make it harder for Pennsylvanians to follow what their elected officials are up to.

State Sen. Bob Robbins (R., Mercer) is the sponsor of Senate Bill 419, which would allow government agencies to publish legal notices on their Web sites, rather than in local newspapers, as is now required by law.

The notices alert the public to important government meetings and transactions regarding issues such as zoning; annexation; budgets; requests for bids on government contracts; permit and licensing applications; and disposal of foreclosed and abandoned property, to name a few.

All of these actions affect the public, and often involve tax money.

Sure, newspapers, including The Inquirer, have a vested interest in publishing the public notices. But the dollar figure is modest in the scheme of things. The broader and more relevant issue is the public's right to know.

Taxpayers already distrust government, which they see as overrun with special interests. Just imagine their frustration in having to click, click, click to get to public notices on Web sites. Not to mention, the notices could be spread across different department or agency sites.

Of course, some people may prefer the Internet over newspapers. But the listings are already available both in newspapers and on their Web sites.

More important, not everyone has access to the Internet. The U.S. Census Bureau says 30 percent of Pennsylvanians lack Internet access. The figure is even higher for the poor and elderly, who would be left in the dark.

Supporters of the bill say public notices on government sites would save taxpayers money. That is a red herring. Just imagine the added patronage jobs or contracts that would likely be required to update Web sites.

The bottom line is that public notices should remain in newspapers. Even with recent turmoil in the industry, newspapers remain the cheapest, fastest way to distribute information to the most people.

Robbins' bill is just the latest attempt by Harrisburg lawmakers to enable elected officials to conduct business with as little public scrutiny as possible.