Del. Head will try to limit the public’s ability to easily track upcoming government decisions.

Del. Chris Head did as he promised the Roanoke City Council and filed a bill that would make it harder for people to learn in advance about council decisions that could affect their lives and livelihoods.

Head’s HB 1317 would allow localities with more than 50,000 people to skip newspaper advertisements of meetings, zoning changes and other important matters. Instead, governments could post legal notices on their websites or purchase radio or television ads. The change might save taxpayers’ dollars, as Head and the Roanoke City Council argue, but it would exact a dear price: the ability for the public readily to know of actions a governing body plans to take.

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