Allowing the executive branch to operate without properly notifying the public risks a dangerous concentration of power.
If a proposed bill passes the Alaska Legislature, it will be harder for Alaskans to keep apprised of what its government is doing. Senate Bill 68, which is moving toward the floor of the House after the State Affairs committee chaired by Rep. Laddie Shaw rubber-stamped it, would eliminate newspaper notices about government actions now required to be published by the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Environmental Conservation .
At the committee’s April 4 hearing, representatives from both agencies talked about how SB 68 will allow them to publish notices on the Alaska Online Public Notice System . But current law already requires most of the agencies’ notices to be posted on AOPNS. Moreover, all DEC notices are already posted on AOPNS — even the few that aren’t required by law to be posted there — according to the testimony of Gene McCabe, acting director of the Division of Water.
It’s true SB 68 would free DNR and DEC from having to work with local newspapers to place ads, but public notice laws aren’t designed to make government employees’ jobs easier. They’re designed to inform the public about important government activities.If it passes, the bill would make it harder for Alaskans to find public notices and dramatically decrease transparency.
By contrast, more Alaskans are reading the news than ever. In the Anchorage area, roughly seven out of 10 adults interact with ADN’s digital and printed products every week. And the role papers play in rural communities is even more vital. Small newspapers spread out across Alaska are widely read in small towns and villages, and folks there rely on them not only for news, but to understand what DNR, DEC and other state agencies are doing in Juneau, so far away from them.
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