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The Office of State Rep. Jonathan Stickland responded today to an attack website hosted by the Texas Press Association and the Texas Daily Newspaper Association aimed at Stickland’s bill, HB 335.  Currently a myriad of laws require local governments to purchase newspaper advertising space in order to post mandatory legal notices in local newspapers. HB 335 would allow local government to satisfy those requirements by instead posting the legal notices on local government internet websites. The newspaper associations have posted a website, www.keeptexasnotified.com, decrying the bill.

“There is great irony in the newspaper associations putting up a website to attack the idea of posting information on websites,” said Stickland. “The fact that they saw the need to put up a website to make their case shows they don’t even believe what they’re saying.  They know that websites are simply the best and most affordable way to disseminate information in 2013. Their website proves they know that.”

In a recent interview with Texas Watchdog, Donnis Baggett, executive vice–president of the Texas Press Association acknowledged that mandatory legal notices in newspapers account for as much as 5% of the revenue received by Texas newspapers.

“I understand that losing up to 5% of their revenue is going to hurt,” added Stickland. “But that’s a pretty poor reason to continue forcing taxpayers to pay for a service that they don’t want and that they don’t need. If the newspapermen want a handout, I suggest they take it up with the Obama administration.  As a conservative republican, however, I’m interested in cutting government waste, not defending it.”