Bill Text: NJ A5343 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Authorizes public bodies to continue using newspapers for required public notices and legal advertisements until certain specified date regardless of format; requires submission of certain subscription data.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-20 - Reported out of Assembly Comm. with Amendments, 2nd Reading [A5343 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A5343-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman REGINALD W. ATKINS
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Authorizes public bodies to continue using newspapers for required public notices and legal advertisements until certain specified date regardless of format.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act allowing the publication of required public notices and legal advertisements in certain newspapers for extended period regardless of format and amending P.L.2024, c.106.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.2024, c.106 is amended to read as follows:
1. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation, or municipal ordinance to the contrary, a newspaper utilized or permitted to be utilized by a person for the purpose of complying with any legal requirement, or a public body, as defined in section 3 of the "Open Public Meetings Act," P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-8), from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024 for the purpose of complying with R.S.35:1-2.2 or any other requirements for issuing or publishing a public notice or legal advertisement, including, but not limited to, for providing adequate notice of a meeting, the solicitation of bids, qualifications, or proposals, or the publication of any ordinances, synopses, or summaries of official documents, shall be deemed eligible for the same purposes from January 1, 2025 to [March 1] December 31, 2025 if the newspaper's publication is in print or electronic format. The price to be paid for publishing all public notices or legal advertisements in print or electronic format as described in this section shall not exceed the rates established pursuant to R.S.35:2-1. A fee shall not be charged, and registration shall not be required, for viewing public notices or legal advertisements published in an electronic format.
b. For the purposes of this section, "electronic format" means an Internet website and other technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities that is operated by or for a newspaper for publication.
(cf: P.L.2024, c.106, s.1)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
Under current law, a newspaper utilized, or permitted to be utilized, by a person or public body, as defined in section 3 of the "Open Public Meetings Act," P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-8), from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024 for the purpose of complying with any requirements for issuing or publishing a public notice or legal advertisement, including, but not limited to, for providing adequate notice of a meeting, the solicitation of bids, qualifications, or proposals, or the publication of any ordinances, synopses, or summaries of official documents, is deemed eligible for the same purposes from January 1, 2025 to March 1, 2025 if the newspaper's publication is in print or electronic format. This bill amends that law to provide that public bodies may continue using qualifying newspapers for required public notices and legal advertisements until December 31, 2025 regardless of format.
