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SALT LAKE CITY -- There are many things going on in the final days of the 2009 legislative session, and one bill now has newspapers seeing red.
Right now, legal notices like trustee sales and public hearing announcements have to be printed in local newspapers. But with the rise of the Internet comes a new idea: Senate Bill 208.
If the bill passes, it would allow those notices posted on a state Web site instead. "It is better notice. More people have Internet connections in Utah than have newspaper subscriptions, and it saves tax payers a fortune," said Sen. Steve Urquhart, the bill's sponsor.
Newspapers are vigorously opposed to this bill. In an age where established papers like Colorado's Rocky Mountain News are going under, revenue is a big deal.
But a Utah newspaper industry spokesman says it's more than money, it's access to an important public service that's at stake.
"The papers are unique, unlike the Internet. Where you're searching things out, you might find things you're not aware of," said Rob Miller, with Media One.
SB 208 has received initial approval in the Senate.
E-mail: rpiatt@ksl.com
