Pennsylvania Senate Bill SB451

Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/17/25
• Refer: 3/17/25

Caption

In legal advertising, providing for disclosure of taxpayer-funded advertising and public notices.

Summary

SB 451 amends Pennsylvania’s legal notices law in Title 45 to require certain taxpayer-funded advertisements, legal advertisements, official advertisements, and legal notices to display the dollar amount paid by the advertiser. The amount must appear in the lower right-hand corner of the publication. The requirement applies to notices published under several local government and public-sector laws, including township, borough, city, county, school code, and open meetings provisions. The bill also prohibits publishers from charging an additional fee for including the dollar amount in the notice. It applies prospectively to advertisements and notices published on or after the effective date, which is 60 days after enactment. In practical terms, the bill creates a new disclosure requirement for public spending on legally required newspaper notices and related advertising, while limiting any added cost to the government entity or advertiser.

Impact

SB 451 would add a new section to Title 45 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes governing legal advertising. It would affect public entities and other advertisers required by law to publish notices in newspapers under the listed statutes, including municipalities, counties, school districts, and entities subject to open meetings requirements. Publishers would be required to print the payment amount on covered notices without charging an extra fee, changing the format and transparency of certain public notices but not the underlying notice obligations.

Sentiment

There is no recorded committee transcript or vote history in the provided materials, so no direct public debate or formal sentiment can be measured from the record here. Based on the bill text and caption, the measure appears to be framed as a transparency and accountability proposal focused on taxpayer-funded advertising and public notices. The absence of opposition or support data means the overall sentiment cannot be reliably characterized beyond that general policy intent.

Contention

The main potential point of contention is whether requiring the dollar amount to be printed on notices adds administrative burden or raises privacy, formatting, or publication concerns for affected public bodies and newspapers. Another possible issue is the scope of covered notices, since the bill reaches multiple codes and open meetings notices across local government and school entities. The bill attempts to address cost concerns by barring publishers from charging an additional fee, which may be welcomed by public entities but could be disputed by publishers if they view the requirement as an uncompensated mandate.