The bill, which passed the House Judiciary Committee 18-6, would allow governments to shift publication of legal notices from daily newspapers, where they have resided for more than a century, to Web sites.
Supporters say the legislation, which would also include state government, would save millions in tax dollars and recognize the transition in information delivery from newspapers to the Internet.
"There are so many more ways people get information now, it's important to have options," said Doug Hill, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania. "It's important to have options, especially when you see newspaper readership is down."
Hill said he did not have a figure on how much counties would save by posting notices such as sheriffs' sales and construction bids online, but some estimate state and local governments in Pennsylvania spend as much as $50 million a year total in newspaper advertising.
Opponents say the move would offer little overall in the way of cost savings, but would seriously limit public access to information.
Deb Musselman, lobbyist for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, said newspapers remain the central repository for a region's information. Without that single medium, residents would have to go to multiple Web sites to find out what's going on.
"It's a needle in the haystack, and you don't know what you're looking for," she said. In addition, Musselman contends, without the requirement to place ads in newspapers, municipalities - which fought the new open-records legislation - could again restrict access to information. For instance, she said, they could funnel construction-bid requests to a limited number of companies on an e-mail list.
Rep. Kate Harper (R., Montgomery), who does legal work for governments in the Philadelphia suburbs, agreed that notices of meetings should be kept where people can find them.
"Many people, especially the kind of people I see at municipal meetings and school board meetings, are seniors who read the newspaper," Harper said.
Hill and others argue that most Pennsylvanians have Internet access and that creating Web sites would allow a searchable database with nationwide access, thus improving the bidding process.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Creighton (R., Lancaster), is one of about six similar bills moving through the General Assembly that would change legal-notice requirements.
Those without Internet access, Hill said, could get the information at a library, or it could be made available to them by governments in hard-copy form.
The bill would allow local governments to choose whether to use the Web or continue using newspapers. The bill was referred to the House Rules Committee, but it was unclear when it would be considered.
This article contains information from the Associated Press.
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