Brandon Cox, publisher of the Kentucky New Era in Hopkinsville and other Paxton Media publications in Western Kentucky, has written this opinion piece on HB 195, which deals with public notice advertising requirements for local governments. Cox makes the case that this legislation is bad for transparency. He writes, in part:

"... This bill is bad policy for a number of reasons.

"First, there are far too many agencies involved for this solution to be viable. In Christian County alone there are multiple municipalities and townships with several agencies under their umbrella: School boards, county government, emergency services, etc.

"Instead of having access all in one place, an inquiring citizen would need to spend countless hours each day chasing down each agency's website to view the individual meeting notices, requests for proposals, bid requests, etc.

"Additionally, a free press exists to hold power to account. The public should believe strongly that those who govern be accountable by way of an independent third party. The public should not rely on any local government to have control over what is placed on a website, how it is placed or where it is placed.

"The proposed solution is inefficient at best and a train wreck for transparency.

"Third, this proposal severely restricts access to public information. Nearly one in five Kentuckians are without reliable access to an internet connection."

Go to the link and read the full column. Call your representatives at 1 (800) 372-7181 and tell them you do not support HB 195.