Pittsburgh voters on Tuesday approved a ballot referendum that gives the city more options in where it can post its public notices.

But the measure could face legal hurdles, as it conflicts with state law requiring such notices be printed in a newspaper, said Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.

“Local governments cannot legislate in piecemeal” when the commonwealth already has rules in place, she said Thursday. “Whatever the referendum says could be subject to legal challenges.”

It may be a moot point if the city does not actually try to move its public notices from newspapers to online platforms, as the referendum would permit. Under the referendum, the city could advertise some public notices — like those announcing public hearings on the budget or zoning changes — in “successor media that reasonably ensures public access,” like digital news publications or the city website.

“To this point, the city has not had any internal conversations about changing the public notice process we’ve used for years,” said Dan Gilman, chief of staff to Mayor Corey O’Connor.

Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, D-Hill District, led the effort to put the change on the referendum. He did not respond to inquiries from TribLive.

Pennsylvania’s Newspaper Advertising Act of 1976 mandates governments post notices in print newspapers. Melewsky said the goal is to ensure that information is transmitted to the public in an independent, accessible way.

“It was to standardize and create uniformity in the public notice practices in the commonwealth because public notice is an important part of government transparency,” she said. “It is the legal obligation of the government to tell us what they’re doing before they’re doing it.”

Melewsky said the city’s referendum could face legal issues because it seemingly conflicts with the state rule.

There is a bill currently before the Pennsylvania House of Representatives that would update the commonwealth’s public notice policies. The Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association has worked with the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Robert Freeman, D-Northampton, on the measure.

Melewsky said the goal is to modernize the public notice system in response to changes in the news industry since 1976. That bill would allow public notices to be published in online newspapers.

“Because newspapers are modernizing, so, too, should the public notice law,” Melewsky said.

It would not give governments the option of posting such notices on their own websites.

When Pittsburgh City Council voted to put the public notice referendum on the ballot, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was expected to close. It has since been purchased by the nonprofit Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism and is continuing operations, albeit with a pared-down staff.

TribLive has also since launched a weekly print edition focused on Pittsburgh news.

The New Pittsburgh Courier serves as a third print newspaper option available in the city.

More than 80% of the roughly 47,000 people who voted on the ballot question this week were in favor, according to unofficial election results. Voter turnout was slim Tuesday in Allegheny County at around 23%.

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