The bill is a stop-gap measure intended to give lawmakers time to consider a more permanent solution to the legal ads issue. (Photo by New Jersey Monitor)
New Jersey lawmakers have sent a bill to the governor’s desk intended to temporarily address concerns that the impending closure of the Star-Ledger will leave many towns without a place to publish legal notices.
Under a bill advanced by both chambers Thursday, governments would be allowed to place those notices in a newspaper’s digital edition instead until March 1, 2025. The Star-Ledger will cease printing a print edition on Feb. 2, but it will continue to publish an electronic version of the paper.
The bill was fast-tracked, since many local governments must designate their official newspapers when they reorganize in January. The state Open Public Meetings Act requires local governments to publish meeting notices and other items in a newspaper of record.
New Jersey media’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day
Local officials have complained for years about this requirement, calling it an antiquated provision of the law written when more people received their news from print newspapers. Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris) criticized support for the bill, saying lawmakers were in essence “subsidizing” an obsolete industry. He suggested posting legal ads and ordinances to township or county websites.
“I say it’s time to pull the Band-aid off and just finish the job,” Webber said.
Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) said the Legislature plans to take another look at the issue. This legislation is just a stopgap measure because there wasn’t enough time to come up with a long-term solution, he said.
“Everybody has a different idea of what we should do, so we’re going to try and build those ideas and come up with a good solution,” Scutari said.
The bill received unanimous support in the Senate and passed 49-20 in the Assembly. The bill now heads to Gov. Phil Murphy for his signature or veto.
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