Notice

Pro Newspaper Industry Public Notice Legislation Passes Committee

On February 4, 2026, the House Local Government Committee passed House Bill 1291, by a vote of 14-12. House Bill 1291, sponsored by Chairman Bob Freeman (D-Northampton), aims to modernize Pennsylvania’s outdated public notice law. PSAB respectfully disagrees that HB 1291 enacts the modernization necessary to meet the needs of boroughs and taxpayers.  PSAB opposes the legislation as it is currently drafted.

As borough officials have expressed through the passage of numerous resolutions calling for real reforms to the public notice law over the last 20 years, the time for significant public notice reform is now. Boroughs across the Commonwealth spend thousands of taxpayer dollars every year advertising in printed newspapers when there are various other methods of advertising that reach more residents and could save taxpayer dollars.

House Bill 1291 would unfortunately cement the decades long monopoly of public notices with the print legacy newspapers. Due to the hierarchy of eligible entities under the definition of “newspaper of general circulation” in the bill, print newspapers will always be the only option for municipalities to place their public notices. Allowing the use of online-only publications and free newspapers only under circumstances where a legacy paper fails to meet the requirements, serves as window dressing since there will never be a realistic scenario in which legacy newspapers will not meet the requirements listed in the bill. It’s important to note that this bill would not allow a borough to advertise a meeting, ordinance, or bids on their own municipal website.

There is already a bipartisan public notice reform bill, supported by PSAB, that is currently being considered by the Pennsylvania State Senate. Senate Bill 194, sponsored by Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin), would allow local governments to publish public notice via a menu of options including printed newspapers, online-only newspapers, municipal websites, or county websites. SB 194 would allow local governments to meet their residents where they are rather than continuing the expensive and out-of-date model that will be perpetuated under HB 1291.

PSAB stands ready to work with the General Assembly to advance SB 194 and to make the needed changes to HB 1291 to bring forth meaningful reform for borough officials. We ask that you contact your State Senators and Representatives to let them know of your support for SB 194 and your opposition to HB 1291. For contact information for your State Representative and Senator, please contact Logan Stover at lstover@boroughs.org.