Newspapers across Wisconsin are being asked to print a letter from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, testimony from WNA Executive Director Beth Bennett, or a story with a photo of the signing of Senate Bill 440 as a way to thank the Legislature and Gov. Tony Evers for supporting the bill.
As stated in the testimony made before the Senate Committee on Transportation and Local Government, SB 440 authored by Assembly Rep. Todd Novak and State Sen. Romaine Quinn amends Chapter 985 which is solely devoted to the requirements for the publication of legal notices in newspapers that includes a change to the mandatory use of the Arial typeface for the publication of notices in newspapers.
A legal notice is every notice required by law or by order of court to be published in a newspaper.
Chapter 985 delineates the requirements that must be met by a newspaper to publish legal notices. The Department of Administration is charged with overseeing the process that determines a newspaper’s eligibility to publish legal notices. This process is referred to as the “certification process.”
Chapter 985 requires that all newspapers publishing legal notices publish them in print, on the newspaper’s website and on the statewide public notice website that aggregates ALL legal notices required to be published in newspapers in Wisconsin.
Every legal notice published by a newspaper is uploaded in real time each day or week by the publishing newspaper. WisconsinPublicNotices.org is maintained by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association on behalf of the newspaper industry at no additional cost to government. All legal notices appearing on WisconsinPublicNotices.org are searchable and available to the public at no cost.
The letter to the editor reminds readers that on Tuesday, Dec. 9, Governor Tony Evers signed SB 440 relating to the how government and court notices that appear in newspapers are published.
“The change, championed by Rep. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville) and Senator Romaine Quinn (R-Birchwood) ensures the continued integrity and print quality of important government information known as legal notices,” Bennett’s letter reads.
“An important premise upon which the principle of democracy is based is that information about government activities must be accessible for people to make informed decisions. For more than two hundred years, newspapers have served as the critically important independent third-party oversight between units of government and the public via the publication of legal notices,” Bennett’s letter reads. “The publication of legal notices in newspapers creates a record verifying that government officially informed the public about actions that may affect their rights, such as zoning changes, tax sales, public hearings, or new regulations.”
The WNA is asking its members to print the letter, the testimony, or both, with the photo as a great way to thank state Legislators — all of whom voted to support the bill — and Gov. Tony Evers for their support of this important piece of legislation which is now law in Wisconsin. Many WNA members have already printed or posted one or more of the assets in connection with SB 440.
The letter, the testimony and the photo are linked here and as separate assets below for your convenience.
Thanks in advance for maintaining an interest in accessible legal notices and a strong voice for newspapers in Wisconsin!
Beth Bennett thank you letter to the editor
