We are concerned legislation sponsored by state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Fayetteville, erodes our state’s commitment to transparency and accountability.

“Resurrected from stalled legislative efforts in previous sessions, the bill would allow public notices to go on municipal, school district and county websites” as an alternative to newspapers, an email from the Pennsylvania Newsmedia Association warns its members.

We agree with our industry’s trade association that allowing government bodies to police their own transparency lacks the independent oversight necessary for accountability.

“Removing public notice advertising from newspapers is bad for government transparency, accountability and, ultimately, taxpayers, who rely on access to trusted information from an independent third-party before decisions are made on budgets and taxes, zoning, bids and other government activity,” the email notes. “County and municipal government websites must never be allowed to satisfy the legal requirement for public notices.”

Newspapers throughout our state perform the vital work of informing the public, as an independent observer, of how municipalities and counties conduct the business of the tax-paying public.

We are skeptical that the number of Pennsylvanians who routinely check the websites for their county, school district and township, city or borough is large enough to justify this change — we are in fact skeptical enough to believe that this change effectively buries important information that the public has a right and a need, in the interest of being informed voters, to know — information that newspapers’ diligent reporting helps place in front of the residents and taxpayers who are supposed to be served by these public servants.

We also find the idea that the cost of running these ads is too burdensome for municipalities to be frankly absurd. Every day, members of our communities use the same sort of advertising to let their communities know about everything from job openings to yard sales — both because it is effective and affordable.

We hope that lawmakers can acknowledge the service that vital reporting provides and keep public notices in the same publications attending these meetings and reporting on the actions of their elected officials.