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Executive Summary
This legislative document, P.L. 2025, c. 72, concerns the publication of required legal notices by public entities, corporations, and individuals. It mandates that public entities publish legal notices on their official Internet websites, ensuring accessibility and a direct hyperlink to the notices on the homepage. A central webpage by the Secretary of State will link to these public entity notice pages. The bill also allows local government units to publish notices on eligible online news publications and requires other entities to do so. The majority of requirements become mandatory on March 1, 2026; until then they are optional.
Web Content
Automated discovery link found on Raritan (City) website.
Document Text
--- Document: P.L. 2025, C. 72 Document ---
EXPLANATION – Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is
not enacted and is intended to be omitted in the law.
Matter underlined thus is new matter.
Title 35.
Chapter 3. (New)
Official
Electronic
Publication
§§1-5
C.35:3-1
to 35: 3-5
P.L. 2025, CHAPTER 72, approved June 30, 2025
Senate, No. 4654
AN ACT concerning publication of required legal notices,
1
supplementing Title 35 of the Revised Statutes, and amending
2
various parts of the statutory law.
3
4
BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State
5
of New Jersey:
6
7
1. (New section) As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending
8
before the Legislature as this bill):
9
"Electronic format" means an Internet website and other
10
technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical,
11
electromagnetic, or similar capabilities that is operated by or for a
12
newspaper for publication.
13
"IP address" means an Internet Protocol address.
14
"Legal notice" means any resolution, official proclamation,
15
notice or advertisement of any sort, kind, or character, including
16
proposals for bids on public work and otherwise, required by law or
17
by the order or rule of any court to be published by a public entity,
18
corporation, an individual, or any other entity.
19
"Local government unit" means a county, municipality, or other
20
political subdivision of the State, or any agency, board,
21
commission, utilities authority or other authority, or other entity
22
thereof, or a person who is a local government unit officer or
23
employee.
24
"Online news publication" means a news publication in
25
electronic format that contains news on matters of public concern
26
and has published news predominantly in the English language at
27
least once per week for at least one year continuously.
28
"Print newspaper" means a news publication in print form that
29
contains news on matters of public concern and has published news
30
predominantly in the English language at least once per week for at
31
least one year continuously.
32
S4654
2
"Public entity" means the State, any State agency, and any local
1
government unit, district, public authority, public agency, and any
2
other political subdivision or political body in the State.
3
"Secretary" means the Secretary of State.
4
"State agency" means any of the principal departments in the
5
Executive Branch of the State Government, and any division, board,
6
bureau, office, commission, or other instrumentality within or
7
created by a department, and, to the extent consistent with law, any
8
interstate agency to which New Jersey is a party and any
9
independent State authority, commission, instrumentality, or
10
agency. A local government unit shall not be deemed an agency or
11
instrumentality of the State.
12
13
2. (New section) a. After March 1, 2026, whenever a public
14
entity is required by law or by order or rule of any court to publish
15
or advertise a legal notice, the public entity shall publish or
16
advertise the legal notice on the public entity’s official Internet
17
website. The public entity’s official Internet website shall be
18
accessible and available to the public free of charge. A direct
19
hyperlink to legal notices published on the public entity’s official
20
Internet website shall be conspicuously placed on the website’s
21
homepage.
22
b. No later than March 1, 2026, the Secretary of State, with
23
support from the Office of Information Technology and any other
24
State agency the secretary deems necessary, shall establish an
25
Internet webpage on which shall be included hyperlinks to the legal
26
notices webpage of each public entity created pursuant to
27
subsection a. of this section. The legal notices hyperlink webpage
28
established by the secretary shall be accessible and available to the
29
public free of charge and shall be accessible by direct hyperlink
30
conspicuously placed on the Secretary of State’s Internet homepage.
31
Each public entity shall submit the hyperlink to the Secretary of
32
State and provide any updates thereto prior to effectuation.
33
c.
No later than March 1, 2026, a public entity shall maintain
34
an Internet archive of legal notices that are no longer displayed,
35
which shall be kept for at least one year. The archive shall not be
36
subject to any records retention schedule adopted by the State
37
Records Committee nor to the "Destruction of Public Records Law
38
(1953)," P.L.1953, c.410 (C.47:3-15 et seq.). A public entity shall
39
display a legal notice on its legal notices Internet webpage for at
40
least one week, or other time period as required by law, before
41
transferring the publication to the public entity’s Internet archive.
42
A local government unit shall initially publish an Internet archive
43
no later than July 1, 2026 and shall maintain the archive thereafter.
44
d. A local government unit may, in addition to the publication
45
on its official Internet website pursuant to subsection a. of this
46
section, publish or advertise a legal notice separately on an eligible
47
online news publication that meets the criteria of subsection b. of
48
S4654
3
section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature
1
as this bill). The local government unit shall provide a notice in a
2
prominent location on its official Internet website if it publishes or
3
advertises its legal notices in an online news publication and shall
4
publish a hyperlink to the online news publication.
5
6
3. (New section) a. (1) After March 1, 2026, whenever a
7
corporation, individual, or any other entity that is not a public entity
8
is required by law or by the order or rule of any court to publish or
9
advertise a legal notice, the corporation, individual, or other entity
10
shall publish or advertise the legal notice on an online news
11
publication that satisfies the requirements of subsection b. of this
12
section.
13
(2) The corporation, individual, or other entity shall select an
14
online news publication based on the geographic target as
15
established or implied under the law, court order, or court rule
16
requiring publication.
17
b. To be an eligible online news publication under subsection
18
a. of this section, an online news publication shall:
19
(1) use a domain name for the Internet website that will be
20
easily recognizable and understandable to users of the website as
21
belonging to that online news publication;
22
(2) maintain the online news publication on the Internet in a
23
manner that is fully accessible and searchable by members of the
24
public at all times, other than during routine maintenance or
25
circumstances outside of the operator’s control;
26
(3) ensure that legal notices published or advertised on the
27
online news publication comply with the requirements that would
28
apply to the legal notices if they were published in a physical
29
newspaper, as applicable;
30
(4) maintain an archive for at least one year of notices that are
31
no longer displayed on the online news publication;
32
(5) display a legal notice for at least one week, or other time
33
period as required by law, before placing it in archive;
34
(6) enable legal notices, both those currently displayed and
35
those archived, to be accessed by key word, by party name, by case
36
number, by county, or other useful identifiers;
37
(7) maintain an adequate security system and develop a
38
contingency plan for coping with and recovering from power
39
outages, systemic failures, and other unforeseen circumstances;
40
(8) not charge a fee or require registration or a subscription to
41
view legal notices;
42
(9) maintain media liability insurance of up to $1 million;
43
(10) have been in continuous operation for at least three years,
44
which can be satisfied by the online news publication itself or by a
45
company that has a controlling or majority interest in the online
46
news publication; and
47
S4654
4
(11) (a) provide the number of monthly unique website visits
1
and monthly unique website visits by users in this State and in each
2
county, as evidenced by IP address or other appropriate identifier,
3
which shall be prominently displayed on the Internet homepage of
4
the online news publication along with the criteria provided in this
5
subsection, or a hyperlink to a webpage displaying such criteria,
6
and whether the online news publication meets each criteria.
7
(b) (i) To qualify as an online news publication eligible to
8
publish legal notices for municipal-wide circulation, the online
9
news publication shall receive 4,000 unique monthly visits on
10
average as calculated annually, no less than 50 percent of which
11
shall be from IP addresses within the applicable municipality or
12
within a 10-mile radius of the municipality.
13
(ii) To qualify as an online news publication eligible to publish
14
legal notices for county-wide circulation, the online news
15
publication shall receive 50,000 unique monthly visits on average
16
as calculated annually, no less than 50 percent of which shall be
17
from IP addresses within the applicable county or within a 10-mile
18
radius of the county.
19
(iii) To qualify as an online news publication eligible to publish
20
legal notices for State-wide circulation, the online news publication
21
shall receive 350,000 unique monthly visits on average as
22
calculated annually, no less than 50 percent of which shall be from
23
IP addresses within the State.
24
c.
The price to be paid for publishing all public notices or legal
25
notices in an online news publication pursuant to P.L. , c.
26
(C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall not
27
exceed the rates established pursuant to R.S.35:2-1.
28
d. Unless otherwise provided pursuant to applicable law or
29
court rule or order, an online news publication that receives a legal
30
notice for publication pursuant to this section shall publish the
31
notice within 24 hours of receipt.
32
e.
An online news publication that falsely represents that it
33
meets the criteria established pursuant to subsection b. of this
34
section and accepts legal notices for publication shall deemed to
35
have committed an unlawful practice under P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-
36
1 et seq.) and liable to enforcement by the Attorney General
37
pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.).
38
39
4. (New section) a. A public entity, corporation, or individual
40
required by law or by the order or rule of any court to publish or
41
advertise a legal notice shall publish or advertise the notice in
42
accordance with the applicable law or court order or rule.
43
b. A public entity, corporation, or individual shall be deemed to
44
satisfy their legal obligations to provide a legal notice upon
45
publication of the notice as required pursuant to P.L. , c.
46
(C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
47
S4654
5
c.
Legal notices published on a public entity’s Internet website
1
or the Internet website of an online news publication in accordance
2
with P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this
3
bill) shall not be deemed defective if at least one of the following
4
circumstances exist:
5
(1) there is an error in the content or form of the legal notice
6
published or advertised on a public entity’s Internet website or
7
online news publication due to a clerical, administrative, or any
8
other error outside of the control of the public entity, corporation, or
9
individual required by law or court order or rule to publish the legal
10
notice;
11
(2) there is a temporary outage, technical malfunction,
12
disruption, or service interruption preventing the publishing,
13
posting, or display of a legal notice on the public entity’s Internet
14
website or online news publication;
15
(3) the operator of the public entity’s Internet website or the
16
online news publication imposes standard restrictions that prevent
17
access to the website or online news publication;
18
(4) the public entity’s Internet website or the online news
19
publication is subject to a cyberattack or cybersecurity incident,
20
including but not limited to ransomware or a data breach, causing
21
the failure to timely or accurately publish the legal notice; or
22
(5) any other circumstances preventing the publishing, posting,
23
or display of a legal notice on the public entity Internet website or
24
online news publication that are outside of the control of the public
25
entity, corporation, or individual required by law or court order or
26
rule to publish the legal notice.
27
28
5. (New section) a. Starting on January 1, 2026 and at least
29
twice per month through December 31, 2026, a public entity
30
required by law or by the order or rule of any court to publish or
31
advertise a legal notice, or that elects to publish or advertise a legal
32
notice before that date pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending
33
before the Legislature as this bill), shall provide an advertisement in
34
an online news publication that meets the requirements of
35
subsection b. of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before
36
the Legislature as this bill), that:
37
(1) states that the complete text of each legal notice may be
38
obtained or viewed by the public on the official Internet website of
39
each public entity; and
40
(2) provides the hyperlink to the Secretary of State’s legal
41
notices hyperlink Internet webpage established pursuant to
42
subsection b. of section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before
43
the Legislature as this bill).
44
b. Until the Secretary of State establishes the legal notices
45
hyperlinks Internet webpage pursuant to subsection b. of section 3
46
of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this
47
bill), a public entity that elects to comply with the provisions of
48
S4654
6
P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)
1
shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of P.L. , c.
2
(C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) without
3
publication of the public entity’s hyperlink on the Internet webpage
4
to be established pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of P.L. , c.
5
(C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
6
7
6. R.S.40:53-2 is amended to read as follows:
8
40:53-2. a. All ordinances or other public notices which any
9
municipality, except cities, may be required by any law to publish,
10
where the manner of publication is not otherwise specifically
11
provided for, shall until March 1, 2026 be published either in at
12
least one newspaper published and circulating in the municipality,
13
and if there be no such newspaper, then in at least one newspaper
14
published in the county in which the municipality is located and
15
circulating in the municipality or consistent with section 2 of
16
P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
17
b. After March 1, 2026, all ordinances or other public notices
18
which any municipality, except cities, may be required by any law
19
to publish, where the manner of publication is not otherwise
20
specifically provided for, shall be published consistent with section
21
2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this
22
bill).
23
(cf: R.S.40:53-2)
24
25
7. N.J.S.40A:2-19 is amended to read as follows:
26
40A:2-19. 1.
a. Publications required by this chapter
27
shall, until March 1, 2026, either in the case of a municipality, be in
28
a newspaper published and circulating in the municipality, if there
29
be one, and if not, in a newspaper published in the county and
30
circulating in the municipality. In the case of a county, publications
31
shall be in a newspaper published at the county seat, if there be one,
32
and if not, in a newspaper published and circulating in the county.
33
For the purposes of this section, a newspaper shall not be deemed to
34
be published during any period of time in which the publication of
35
such newspaper shall be interrupted by any involuntary suspension
36
of publication resulting from loss, destruction, mechanical or
37
electric failure of typesetting equipment or printing presses or the
38
unavailability due to conditions beyond the control of the publisher,
39
of paper or other materials and supplies necessary for operation, or
40
resulting from a labor dispute with a recognized labor union or be
41
published consistent with section 2 or 3, as applicable, of P.L. , c.
42
(C. or C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
43
b. After March 1, 2026 publications required by this chapter
44
shall be published consistent with section 2 or 3, as applicable, of
45
P.L. , c. (C. or C. ) (pending before the Legislature as
46
this bill).
47
(cf: P.L.1970, c.318, s.1)
48
S4654
7
8. R.S.35:1-2.2 is amended to read as follows:
1
35:1-2.2. a.
Whenever until March 1, 2026, by law, it is
2
required that there be published by printing and publishing in a
3
newspaper or newspapers, ordinances, resolutions or notices or
4
advertisements of any sort, kind, or character by any county, city, or
5
other municipality or municipal corporation, or by any municipal
6
board or official board, or body, or office, or officials, or by any
7
person or corporation, [such] the newspaper or newspapers [must]
8
shall, in addition to any other qualification now required by law,
9
meet the following qualifications, namely: [said] the newspaper or
10
newspapers shall be entirely printed in the English language, shall
11
be printed and published within the State of New Jersey, shall be a
12
newspaper of general paid circulation possessing an average news
13
content of not less than 35 [%] percent, shall have been published
14
continuously in the municipality where its publication office is
15
situate for not less than [2] two years and shall have been entered
16
for [2] two years as second-class mail matter under the postal laws
17
and regulations of the United States. In case a newspaper cannot
18
meet these qualifications itself but has acquired another newspaper
19
which meets these qualifications, the acquiring newspaper shall be
20
deemed to meet these qualifications if it is published in the same
21
municipality and entered in the same post office as was the acquired
22
newspaper. Continuous publication within the meaning of this
23
section shall not be deemed interrupted by any involuntary
24
suspension of publication for a period not exceeding [6] six
25
months resulting from loss, destruction, mechanical or electrical
26
failure of typesetting equipment or printing presses or the
27
unavailability, due to conditions beyond the control or the
28
publisher, of paper or other materials and supplies necessary for
29
operation, or resulting from a labor dispute with a recognized labor
30
union, and any newspaper so affected shall not be disqualified
31
hereunder in the event that publication is resumed within said
32
period of [6] six months.
33
For the purposes of this section and for the purpose of qualifying
34
for legal advertisements generally, any newspaper which for not
35
less than [2] two years shall have been continuously printed in a
36
building located within two municipalities and which for not less
37
than [2] two years shall have continuously maintained its editorial
38
and business offices in said building shall be deemed to have been
39
published continuously in each of said municipalities during that
40
period and its publication office shall be deemed to have been
41
situate in each municipality during that period.
42
In the event any newspaper which shall have been qualified to
43
publish legal advertisements shall move its publication office to
44
any municipality in the same county or in an adjacent county in
45
this State and which shall otherwise continue to meet the
46
qualifications of this section, it shall be qualified to publish legal
47
S4654
8
advertisements which it was qualified to publish prior to moving
1
said publication office for a period of [2] two years after the date
2
of the moving of its publication office or such period as [said] the
3
newspaper shall have the highest paid circulation of any newspaper
4
within the county or municipality which shall use said newspaper
5
for legal advertisements.
6
b. In lieu of the requirements of subsection a. of this section,
7
whenever until March 1, 2026, by law, it is required that there be
8
published by printing and publishing in a newspaper or newspapers,
9
ordinances, resolutions or notices or advertisements of any sort,
10
kind, or character by any county, city, or other municipality or
11
municipal corporation, or by any municipal board or official board,
12
or body, or office, or officials, or by any person or corporation, the
13
newspaper or newspapers may be published consistent with section
14
2 or 3, as applicable, of P.L. , c. (C. or C. ) (pending
15
before the Legislature as this bill).
16
c.
After March 1, 2026 whenever, by law, it is required that
17
there be published by printing and publishing in a newspaper or
18
newspapers, ordinances, resolutions or notices or advertisements of
19
any sort, kind, or character by any county, city, or other
20
municipality or municipal corporation, or by any municipal board or
21
official board, or body, or office, or officials, or by any person or
22
corporation, the newspaper or newspapers shall be published
23
consistent with section 2 or 3, as applicable, of P.L. , c.
24
(C. or C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
25
(cf: P.L.1979, c.84, s.1)
26
27
9. Section 1 of P.L.2024, c.106, as amended by P.L.2025, c.22,
28
is amended to read as follows:
29
1. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation, or municipal
30
ordinance to the contrary, a newspaper utilized or permitted to be
31
utilized by a person for the purpose of complying with any legal
32
requirement, or a public body, as defined in section 3 of the "Open
33
Public Meetings Act," P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-8), from January 1,
34
2024 through December 31, 2024 for the purpose of complying with
35
R.S.35:1-2.2 or any other requirements for issuing or publishing a
36
public notice or legal advertisement, including, but not limited to,
37
for providing adequate notice of a meeting, the solicitation of bids,
38
qualifications, or proposals, or the publication of any ordinances,
39
synopses, or summaries of official documents, shall be deemed
40
eligible for the same purposes from January 1, 2025 to [June 30,
41
2025] March 1, 2026 if the newspaper’s publication is in print or
42
electronic format. The price to be paid for publishing all public
43
notices or legal advertisements in print or electronic format as
44
described in this section shall not exceed the rates established
45
pursuant to R.S.35:2-1. A fee shall not be charged, and registration
46
shall not be required, for viewing public notices or legal
47
advertisements published in an electronic format.
48
S4654
9
b. For the purposes of this section, "electronic format" means
1
an Internet website and other technology having electrical, digital,
2
magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities
3
that is operated by or for a newspaper for publication.
4
5
10. This act shall take effect immediately.
6
7
8
STATEMENT
9
10
This bill provides that whenever a public entity, as defined in the
11
bill, is required by law or by order or rule of any court to publish or
12
advertise a legal notice, the public entity is to publish or advertise
13
the legal notice on the public entity’s official Internet website. The
14
majority of the bill’s requirements are mandatory beginning March
15
1, 2026, and are optional until that date. Under the bill, the public
16
entity’s official Internet website is to be accessible and available to
17
the public free of charge, and a direct hyperlink to legal notices
18
published on the public entity’s official Internet website is to be
19
conspicuously placed on the public entity’s Internet homepage.
20
The Secretary of State, with support from the Office of
21
Information Technology and any other State agency the secretary
22
deems necessary, is required to establish an Internet webpage which
23
includes the hyperlinks to the legal notices webpage of each public
24
entity. The legal notices hyperlink webpage is to be accessible and
25
available to the public free of charge and be accessible by a direct
26
hyperlink that is conspicuously placed on the Secretary of State’s
27
homepage. Each public entity is required to submit the entity’s
28
hyperlink to the Secretary of State and provide any updates thereto.
29
The bill provides that a public entity is required to maintain an
30
Internet archive of legal notices that are no longer displayed, which
31
are required to be kept for at least one year. A public entity is
32
required to display a legal notice on its legal notices webpage for at
33
least one week, or other time period as required by law, before
34
transferring it to the archive. Under the bill, a local government
35
unit is not required to maintain an archive until July 1, 2026.
36
Under the bill, a local government unit may in addition to the
37
publication on its official website, publish or advertise a legal
38
notice on an eligible online news publication that meets the criteria
39
as specified in the bill.
40
The bill also provides that whenever a corporation, individual, or
41
any other entity that is not a public entity is required by law or by
42
the order or rule of any court to publish or advertise a legal notice,
43
the corporation, individual, or other entity is to publish or advertise
44
the legal notice on an online news publication that satisfies the
45
eligibility requirements to function as an online news publication,
46
as specified in the bill. For the year from January 1, 2026, a public
47
entity is required to provide an advertisement at least twice per
48
S4654
10
month in an eligible online news publication that: states that the
1
complete text of each legal notice may be obtained or viewed by the
2
public on the official Internet website of the public entity; and
3
provides the hyperlink to the Secretary of State’s legal notices
4
hyperlink Internet webpage, with exceptions provided in the bill.
5
Additionally, under current law, a newspaper utilized, or
6
permitted to be utilized, by a person or public body, as defined in
7
section 3 of the "Open Public Meetings Act," P.L.1975, c.231
8
(C.10:4-8), from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024 for
9
the purpose of complying with any requirements for issuing or
10
publishing a public notice or legal advertisement, including, but not
11
limited to, for providing adequate notice of a meeting, the
12
solicitation of bids, qualifications, or proposals, or the publication
13
of any ordinances, synopses, or summaries of official documents, is
14
deemed eligible for the same purposes from January 1, 2025 to June
15
30, 2025 if the newspaper’s publication is in print or electronic
16
format. This bill amends that law to provide that public bodies may
17
continue using qualifying newspapers for required public notices
18
and legal advertisements until March 1, 2026 regardless of format.
19
The bill is to take effect immediately.
20
21
22
23
24
Provides for publication of required legal notices on government
25
Internet websites and through certain online news publications.
26
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