Your right to know is being threatened by legislative action in upcoming session

Once again, the legislature and county commissioners across the state are seeking to deliberately inflict financial harm on print media – which will also harm the interests of many citizens, particularly the elderly. 

 This time, the threat is coming from the Ada County Commissioners. They want the legislature to stop requiring legal notices from being printed in local newspapers. They revealed their true intent by calling it a “subsidy” to newspapers instead of the act of full public awareness and transparency that it is. 

 This would be the fifth time in six years that this would be attempted if the legislature acts on this request from the Ada County commissioners.

 This action would discriminate against those (many of whom are elderly) who are not internet-savvy and depend on newspapers for the primary source of information. And the cost is miniscule compared to the total Ada County budget. 

 Here’s what I told the commissioners and the Idaho Statesman: 

 “If all you do is look at the cost of something, you will never appreciate or respect the value that it provides. That value isn’t always necessarily in the form of a return on investment. It’s about providing a service, and that’s what government is responsible for: providing services to its constituents. All its constituents, not just the ones that are the least expensive to service.”

 Editor’s note: Public notices published in newspapers inform you, our readership, about upcoming governmental public hearings, budgets, elections, and so much more. This legislation strikes at the heart of Idaho’s values of transparency, accountability, and open government.