House committee OKs update to public notice advertisements
Rep. Robert L. Freeman February 10, 2026 | 11:26 AM
HARRISBURG, Feb. 10 – Local governments and school districts would be able to publish their public notices in digital newspapers and free publications if no print newspapers are still published in their area, under legislation approved by the PA House Local Government Committee, according to prime sponsor state Rep. Robert Freeman.
State law currently requires municipalities and school districts to publish public notices in newspapers of general circulation, which by law must be in print. With fewer and fewer print newspapers remaining, it is difficult for local governments to meet the current statutory requirement for legal notices.
Freeman’s legislation would update the state’s nearly 50-year-old Newspaper Advertising Act to require that public notices continue to be published in print newspapers of general circulation, but if such a newspaper does not exist, the notice could be published in a digital newspaper of general circulation that is the decedent of a printed newspaper, an online-only newspaper, or a free newspaper.
“The changes proposed in my bill are consistent with various recent public notice statutes adopted across the nation and will update our public notice law while ensuring Pennsylvanians can continue to find public notices in their trusted local newspapers, a disinterested, third-party whose constitutional role is to hold government accountable,” said Freeman, D-Northampton.
“As more newspapers expand digital platforms and many rural areas and certain demographics within the state struggle with limited internet access, this definition should be broadened to address the circumstances of all Pennsylvanians so that public notices reach as many people as possible.”
Under the bill, a “digital newspaper” would be an online newspaper formatted similarly to a printed newspaper which must meet specific statutory criteria regarding its purpose and its ties to the community or be a digital descendant of a printed newspaper. A “free newspaper" would be a printed newspaper published without charge that would also have to fit certain statutory criteria regarding its content. An “online-only newspaper” would be a newspaper that is available to the public exclusively online or digitally and must also meet additional statutory criteria.
Print and free newspapers would also have to maintain a website and post public notices online and in front of a paywall. Newspapers would also be required to post public notices on the statewide publicly accessible website maintained by the Pennsylvania News Media Association.
The bill also would require municipalities and school districts to adopt a resolution at a public meeting declaring which newspaper of general circulation they will be using to carry their public notice advertisements.
House Bill 1291 awaits action by the full House of Representatives.
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