A state legislator said this week he plans to introduce a bill aimed at bolstering the ailing journalism industry by offering newspapers property tax exemptions.

According to the bill’s author, Rep. Marlin Schneider, D-Wisconsin Rapids, this bill will provide property tax exemption for all real estate owned by a newspaper, including the publishing and production vicinities.

“Newspapers are dying and they need some help, I see that as a threat to our democracy,” Schneider said.

Currently, only facilities that house printing presses are exempt from property taxes.

Schneider also said a major concern with the struggling newspaper industry is that many records are not electronically archived and may be lost if newspapers fail.

“There will be a potential loss of historical records in virtually every community that has a local newspaper,” Schneider said.

Specifically, he said local public announcements of marriage, death and celebration will be lost. These are things that are not recorded by the electronic bloggers but are still important in the everyday lives of the people, according to Schneider.

Yet there is a question as to if newspapers would even want the support.

“We’re not looking for any special favors from [the Legislature],” said John Smalley, editor of the Wisconsin State Journal, the state’s second largest newspaper. “It wouldn’t be a huge deal for us in terms of savings.”

Smalley said he is not in favor of the bill because it does not address more serious concerns surrounding newspapers. Instead of giving the State Journal a small property tax break, Smalley said the state should focus on not adding more new taxes to the paper.

“The Legislature should stop talking about taxing advertising and subscription sales in the newspapers because ultimately it would hurt us if they went into effect,” Smalley said.

He added the Legislature should not be focused on tax breaks; instead they should publish legal notices in the paper and keep records open to the public.

Schneider added it is hard to say when this bill will hit the Assembly floor as well as what cost estimates will look like, as it has not been formally introduced.