Tue. Feb 18th, 2025 6:31:15 AM

Idaho State Capitol Building in Boise

The Idaho State Capitol Building in Boise shines in the sunlight on Jan. 7, 2025. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun)

Idaho House lawmakers on Wednesday shelved a bill that would let government agencies and residents electronically publish official public notices instead of paying newspapers to publish them. 

The Idaho House State Affairs Committee voted 9-6 to hold the bill, House Bill 33, in committee.

Rep. Jeff Ehlers, R-Meridian, debates on the Idaho House of Representatives floor on Feb. 9, 2024.
Rep. Jeff Ehlers, R-Meridian, debates on the Idaho House of Representatives floor on Feb. 9, 2024. (Kyle Pfannenstiel/Idaho Capital Sun)

Rep. Jeff Ehlers, R-Meridian, pitched the bill as a way to modernize public notices and reduce costs that Idaho government agencies pay newspapers to publish public notices. 

The bill would’ve allowed posting public notices online on a state-government managed website, which would’ve let users subscribe to alerts.

State and local governments would’ve saved at least $1 million each per year, the bill’s fiscal note estimated. Creating a state public notice website, the fiscal note estimated, would’ve cost $570,000 in one-time development costs and around $300,000 each year for ongoing operation costs. 

“It’s important that we get back to the intent of why we have public notices. And to me, that’s in the name of it, which is to notify the public of what’s happening — to bring transparency to the actions of the government,” Ehlers told the committee. 

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Several newspaper representatives testified against the bill, noting that public notices are already available online through a website by the Newspaper Association of Idaho. Representatives for the Association of Idaho Cities, the Idaho Association of Counties, the Idaho School Boards Association, and Ada County commissioners testified in support of the bill.

The committee’s vote to hold the bill in committee came after some lawmakers expressed concern about allowing the state government to manage publishing public notices.

“The reason that we have requirements that we publish in newspapers is to make sure that certain notices are brought before the public, so that the public may act on those,” said Rep. Joe Alfieri, R-Coeur d’Alene.  “… If we are going to turn that over to the state, we are at risk of having that information kept from the public when it doesn’t serve the best interests of the state.”

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