State Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill | Pennsylvania
State Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill | Pennsylvania
In Harrisburg, during the observance of Sunshine Week, a national initiative for promoting transparency in government, Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York) has introduced legislation focused on taxpayer-funded spending.
Phillips-Hill stated, “As newspapers across the nation rightfully celebrate and call for greater government openness and transparency, I am hopeful they heed their own advice that government spending works best in the sunlight.”
Governments at state, county, and local levels as well as school districts are mandated to post public and legal advertising in newspapers. This requirement results in increasing costs for taxpayers. According to a 2006 survey by the state's bicameral, bipartisan Local Government Commission, these costs exceeded $18 million. Adjusted for inflation, today's annual cost surpasses $28 million.
Blair County's expenditure on legal advertising increased from $176,853 in 2021 to $215,431 in 2022. The City of Lancaster spent nearly $73,000 on required advertising costs. Many municipalities across Pennsylvania experience financial strain due to these expenses.
The proposed legislation mandates that newspapers disclose the cost incurred by local governmental entities to publish mandatory advertisements within the advertisement itself.
Phillips-Hill emphasized that changes in news consumption have not been matched by updates in relevant laws. “What we are seeing is newspaper circulation declining and advertising costs for local governments rising, so it is more important than ever to bring transparency to this mandated taxpayer spending,” she remarked.
A recent Pew Research Study supports her observation by showing a decline of more than half in newspaper circulation over less than two decades.
“Sunshine Week is about making sure government works for the people – not behind closed doors. This bill is about shining a light on government spending starting with the very entities that champion government transparency and accountability – the newspapers,” Phillips-Hill concluded.
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