By Autumn Shelton, West Virginia Press Association
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – An agreeable solution between members of the West Virginia Legislature and members of the West Virginia Press Association regarding the publication of legal advertisements may be on the horizon for the state’s newspaper industry.
On Friday, during the West Virginia Press Association’s annual convention, Senator Jack David Woodrum, R-Summers, presented an overview of the state’s legal ad landscape and identified progress made that might be beneficial to all stakeholders.
During the 2024 regular legislative session, Senate Bill 264 was sponsored by Sen. Woodrum. If passed, that bill would have reduced legal advertising rates for the state’s newspapers. However, the bill stalled in the rules committee. (Similar legislation has been introduced in prior years as well.)
According to Woodrum, soon after the bill’s introduction, a meeting between newspaper representatives, himself and Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, was held.
The main goal of SB 264, Woodrum said, was to “get everybody at the table.”
“It did, and it ended up being a very productive conversation,” Woodrum said.
Through these discussions, an updated draft version of SB 264 was created, Woodrum added.
According to a committee substitute draft of SB 264, which was provided to convention attendees, newspapers would be required to post legal advertisements online and not subject to a paywall, or face a rate reduction.
Updated language in the draft states: “(b) Beginning January 1, 2025, newspapers that have searchable legal advertisements on the newspaper’s archived website and submit the newspaper’s legal advertisements to the statewide, searchable website maintained by the West Virginia Press Association may adhere to the rate structure set forth in subsection (a)* : Provided, That the legal advertisements on the newspaper’s archived website may not be subject to a a paywall and must be free to search. The West Virginia Press Association will monitor all newspaper legal advertisements for compliance and shall inform the Secretary of State’s Office of the rates that each newspaper in West Virginia may charge and receive based on their searchable status.
(c) Beginning January 1, 2025, newspapers that do not meet the requirements of subsection (b) may be permitted to charge and receive no more than 85% of the rates set forth in subsection (a). The West Virginia Press Association will monitor all newspaper legal advertisements for compliance and shall inform the Secretary of State’s Office of the rates that each newspaper in West Virginia may charge and receive based on their searchable status.”
According to Publisher Andy Kniceley, this new draft legislation may be introduced during a possible special session, but that is not yet guaranteed. However, it will “come up again.”
“It behooves us to get it passed before a changing of the guard,” Kniceley stated. “We have to do our part whether it gets passed in special session or not.”
Kniceley continued that newspapers must work toward moving their legal advertisements online before a government entity, such as the Secretary of State’s office, begins to do so. He said that if the legislature would have passed the previous version of the bill, newspapers “could have taken cuts.”
One of the main complaints surrounding legal advertisements being published in newspapers is that they are not being printed in a timely fashion, Kniceley said. Cost has also come up as an issue, but through legislative educational efforts, that aspect of the placement of legal advertisements seems to have been somewhat mitigated.
Regardless, without revenue from legal ads, some newspapers may “fall,” Kniceley stated.
Not only will this draft legislation help newspapers, but it will also hold the government accountable.
“Transparency is the most important thing, and having a government entity to put this stuff on their own website, and there’s no accountability . . . you’ve gotta have a third party,” Kniceley continued. “And that’s a role we have played for 150 years.”
According to Publisher David Hedges, the publication of legal ads also brings in extra revenue for counties.
“The two big spenders on legal ads are the courthouse and the auditor’s office. They both have methods of recouping their expenditures and more,” Hedges explained, adding that Roane County made $111,000 in fees following the recent publication of delinquent taxes.
“They’re going to lose a profit center, (if a state entity takes over legal ad publishing),” Kniceley stated.
This is something that many government leaders, including county commissioners, are not aware of, Woodrum noted.
Those in attendance during Woodrum’s presentation stated it was imperative to “get the word” out to other newspaper publishers regarding this draft legislation, and that the West Virginia Press Association Foundation has plans to help all of the state’s newspapers post their legal advertisements online.
To view the West Virginia Press Association’s legal advertisement website, visit https://wvlegals.com/.
Note: This draft legislation must be approved by legislative committee members before entering the legislative process. It is still a work in progress.
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*Rate structure from subsection a:
