Online-only legal ads will block many from information

Citrus County state Sen. Charlie Dean has figured out a way to be a bully but grandstand it as a way to save taxpayer money. What a queasy guy, but hey, just sell it as cheaper and a lot of folks who it actually will hurt will nod and support him.

Dean wants to hurt the same community newspaper that caught him trying to cheat on a building project on his land. He has introduced a measure that would take all government legal ads out of newspapers in Florida and put them on a government website. He says his intent is only to save taxpayer money. Sure it is.

Obviously if his bill is passed, it would affect all newspapers, including this one, but that's not the point. If his bill was only about saving taxpayer money, and had no other ill effects, there would be little this paper or any other could legitimately criticize. But this proposed bill has plenty to dislike.

Forget that Dean was caught building a "barn" that actually was a fully functional apartment without any county permitting, impact fees or anything else that average folks have to take care of to build something like that. And forget that the Citrus County Chronicle covered this indiscretion thoroughly. Just consider the consequences of this bill if it passes.

If legal notices are only put online, many senior citizens, low income and poor Floridians will never have an opportunity to see these legal advertisements that are required by law. A certain segment of the population will have access to it, but certainly it won't be available to a percentage of residents who do not use the Internet, nor have the means to do so.

Some proponents of Dean's bill claims that declining circulation in some of the state's larger newspapers prove that there needs to be a change in how the information is delivered. While some papers are experiencing circulation cuts, some aren't, especially community newspapers. And one thing's for sure, newspapers and their websites have more readers now than ever before.

We're all for saving taxpayer dollars, but Dean's proposed bill is a bad idea. Too many Floridians will not get an opportunity to see government notices that are important to them. Besides that, Dean's temper tantrum for getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar shouldn't be rewarded.