Background The Tennessee Public Meetings Act, commonly referred to as the “Sunshine Law,” declares that any meeting of a local governing body or its boards, in which public business is decided, must be open to the public. The Act also requires adequate public notice of such meetings. State statutes do not define “adequate public notice.” However, there are instances in which the law prescribes a public notice be printed in a newspaper of general circulation and establishes the number of days in advance of the meeting that the notice must appear in the newspaper. For example, public notice must appear in a newspaper at least ten days in advance of a meeting of a municipal governing body to consider its annual budget. Problem The law requires public notice in an effort to ensure the general public is made aware of meetings in which an elected body or its boards will decide matters affecting the community. Thirty years ago, the local newspaper was the primary source of news and information for most Americans. As such, it is an indisputable fact that, at the time the statutes were enacted, newspapers provided the most effective means of accomplishing the law’s intent. However, the manner in which public notice is prescribed under the law is no longer reflective of the times in which we live. Studies have consistently found that newspaper print subscriptions are on the decline. Conversely, studies have found that use of the Internet continues to rise. In fact, the vast majority of Tennesseans have access to the Internet at home and work or through local schools and libraries. Therefore, it is no surprise that the Internet has eclipsed the daily newspaper as the medium that more Americans count as their primary source of news. Moreover, these trends are seemingly validated by the practices of the newspapers themselves as more newspapers have begun offering on-line editions.The relative appeal of the Internet versus print newspapers as a source of news and information aside, there are other issues associated with compelling local governments to provide notice in newspapers that suggests its time to re-visit these statutory requirements. Many communities in Tennessee are solely served by newspapers that are published once a week. The advertising deadline imposed by these publications coupled with the statutory requirements concerning advanced notice effectively forces a local governing body and its boards to choose between providing notice upwards of a month in advance of a public meeting and delaying the body’s consideration of pending business. The issues associated with providing public notice are not limited to weekly newspapers. Daily newspapers frequently bury public notices among advertising or relegate these notices to those areas of the newspaper that are least likely to be perused, let alone read. Additionally, some of these notice and accompanying documents can be quite voluminous and it is not uncommon for local governments to learn that the notice has been squeezed out a particular issue. This is true of both weekly and daily newspapers and requires the issuing governing body to delay consideration. Furthermore, there are substantial costs associated with placing public notices in newspapers of general circulation; creating an unnecessary drain on public finances. The continued expenditure of public funds for this purpose is even more questionable when one considers the effect of all of these aforementioned issues acting in concert. This is particularly evident when one considers that many local governments have established a Web site that is accessible day and night and affords a more effective and economical means to inform the public, yet posting notice on an official governmental site does not satisfy the law’s requirement. Proposed Legislation Expand current law to provide that posting required notices on an official local government Web site satisfies the law’s public notice requirements; provided the local governing body adopts and implements a policy to educate citizens on the availability of these notices. Benefits Providing that posting required notices on an official local government Web site satisfies the law’s public notice requirements will ensure the law’s intent is preserved, provide a means of obtaining information about public meetings that is more reflective of habits and lifestyles, and eliminate the costs incurred publishing notices in newspapers, while avoiding the possibility that notices will be missed entirely or that the consideration of Important business will be delayed in order to accommodate a newspaper’s deadline.
