Texans must keep an eye on efforts to hide public notices

Regular readers of this space know The Daily News writes about public notices nearly every session. Among the thousands and thousands of bills filed, invariably there are numerous examples of elected officials carrying bills designed to reduce the availability of independently published and public records of governmental activities.

In full disclosure, The Daily News and other newspapers are paid for the publication of such notices. In addition to being a public service, this newspaper is a business that must earn a profit in order to exist. Those profits go toward funding local journalism and engaging as a good community citizen. Public notices are a part of our business, just like paving roads is a part of a highway contractor’s business.

But there is more to this story.

The Texas Constitution and state statutes require that public notices run in local newspapers because of the general availability and broad accessibility to the public. And critically, newspapers provide a safe haven of independence of preserving the record for both citizens and elected officials.

Once a newspaper is printed or digitally published, the record is preserved for all to see without outside influence. Newspapers do not go back and delete or change information; correct, yes. Act as if they never happened? No.

This is a key element of this entire discussion. We live in a free democracy in great part because our government is required to do its business within view and knowledge of its citizens.

The public’s right to know about what the government is up to is a critical element of that democracy. One’s ability to read about scheduled meetings, property tax increases or zoning changes to the property next door is too important to discover after the horse has left the barn.

We live in a participatory democracy where Texans regularly get fired up and show up in mass to public meetings to share — or at times vent — their opinions.

And while elected officials will agree with this concept, some wish to remove public notices from the independent and very public custodial protection of newspapers. Ironically, their proposed solution is to publish public notices solely on a governmental website — a place where they should already be posted anyway.

The general rationale is saving the taxpayer money. As a percentage of governmental budgets; however, the cost to communicate with the public in this established and trusted third-party manner is miniscule. The most critical question is what it will cost the taxpayer if he’s left in the dark to learn of changes afterwards.

Removal of public notices from newspapers and their digital distribution would completely defeat the principle of outside accountability by a third party.

The Daily News and other newspapers make public notices available to arguably a larger audience than ever. Each public notice placed in The Daily News is published in print and on multiple digital websites and services. Local public notices are even published on a statewide searchable site where taxpayers across Texas can access information to their heart’s delight. You can even arrange to have so-called “push” emails sent to you when a certain type of notice is posted.

Never before have public notices been as widely available to the public as they are today.

Taxpayers and citizens should always recoil whenever they get wind of a governmental agency working to reduce or restrict access to public information. Much like when a candle is extinguished in a room, strange things can happen in the dark.

Your support of public notices and the spirit of transparency and accountability for all is appreciated. Keep an eye on this space as the 88th session continues for updates on your right to know.

• Leonard Woolsey