The Connecticut House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would end a longstanding practice that has helped fund local newspapers. House Bill 5289 would eliminate the requirement that towns and cities publish legal notices in a print newspaper. Legal notices would instead need to be p osted on the municipality’s website; officials would have the option to publish them in print, as well, if they wish. The shift would bring a mundane administrative requirement into the internet age — arguably decades late — but would also cut away at a reliable source of revenue for local print publications. Several lawmakers took the opportunity of Thursday’s floor debate in the Capitol to wax nostalgic about the value of free, local periodicals, and the news Connecticut residents can still read in physical form. They described veterans discussing the news in diners and grandmas filling out crossword puzzles. “We bemoan the fact that there is a decline in readership in newspapers, and yet what are we doing here today — we are proposing to give people even less of a reason to read their local newspaper,” Rep. Mike Demicco, D-Farmington, said. Some lawmakers pointed out that many of their constituents rely on print publications, including people with certain disabilities and senior citizens. “A lot of them can’t get to the town, can’t get to the library, maybe they don’t have internet. Our elderly, who, maybe they’re not as fluent in the internet — I think a lot of them are these days — but are they going to think on a daily basis of going on to town [websites] to look for those notices?” Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco, R-Wolcott, said. Rep. Mary Mushinsky, D-Wallingford, said she estimates 15% of seniors in her district don’t know how to get online without assistance. “They will eventually die out, but right now they’re still here,” she said. Other lawmakers described their fondness for the news in physical form. “I love the newspaper. I still love to grab it. I don’t get it delivered. I go and grab it from my newsstand. Love still getting the black ink on my hand as I’m reading it,” Rep. Tim Ackert, R-Coventry, said. But Ackert voted in favor of the bill, saying, “When are we going to get with the times? And when are we going to have us have the ability to use what the majority of the people are using to get their information?” He said it’s not the responsibility of towns to maintain the publication of low-circulation newspapers. That would be another “unfunded mandate,” he said. Ackert wasn’t the only lawmaker who urged their colleagues to accept the reality of today’s media landscape. “I think what we need to do today is open our minds a little bit and stop insulting the intelligence of the people of Connecticut. They know how to use the internet. They can find these notices,” said Rep. Joe Zullo, R-East Haven. Rep. Eleni Kavros Degraw, D-Avon, said she’d heard of towns spending $50,000, sometimes $100,000 a year to publish legal notices in print, as required. The goal of the bill was to reduce that financial burden for towns, she said. Rep. Kate Farrar, D-West Hartford, spoke in support of local news and in support of the bill. “In moving forward to face our current present standing of how folks access their news — and ensure that we’re also supporting what’s needed for true support of local news moving forward — I think we have to come to terms with where we are and how we can best make sure that information is getting to our constituents.” The bill passed the House 96-48 and heads now to the Senate. ...read more read less