NJ Public Advertisement Law Update

BID #: A5878

ISSUED: 6/25/2025

DUE: TBD

VALUE: TBD

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Executive Summary

Assembly Bill No. 5878 (A5878) introduces changes to the publication of legal notices in New Jersey. The bill mandates that public entities publish legal notices on their official websites, with a direct hyperlink on the homepage, starting March 1, 2026. The Secretary of State is required to establish a webpage linking to these notices. Local government units may also publish notices in eligible online news publications. For entities not considered public, the bill requires publishing legal notices on qualified online news platforms. Public entities must also advertise in online news publications twice monthly in 2026, directing the public to the Secretary of State's legal notices webpage. The bill also extends the eligibility of newspapers for publishing public notices and legal advertisements until March 1, 2026, regardless of their format.

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Document Text

--- Document: NJ Public Advertisement Law Update Document ---
  
(Sponsorship Updated As Of: 6/27/2025) 
ASSEMBLY, No. 5878  
STATE OF NEW JERSEY 
221st LEGISLATURE 
   
INTRODUCED JUNE 25, 2025 
 
 
Sponsored by: 
Assemblyman  ALEXANDER "AVI" SCHNALL 
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean) 
 
Co-Sponsored by: 
Assemblywoman Murphy 
 
 
 
 
SYNOPSIS 
 
Provides for publication of required legal notices on government Internet 
websites and through certain online news publications.  
 
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT  
 
As introduced. 
    


 
A5878 SCHNALL 
2 
 
 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. 
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 
 
"Public entity" means the State, any State agency, and any local 
33 
government unit, district, public authority, public agency, and any 
34 
other political subdivision or political body in the State. 
35 
 
"Secretary" means the Secretary of State. 
36 
 
"State agency" means any of the principal departments in the 
37 
Executive Branch of the State Government, and any division, board, 
38 
bureau, office, commission, or other instrumentality within or 
39 
created by a department, and, to the extent consistent with law, any 
40 
interstate agency to which New Jersey is a party and any 
41 
independent State authority, commission, instrumentality, or 
42 
agency.  A local government unit shall not be deemed an agency or 
43 
instrumentality of the State. 
 
44 


 
A5878 SCHNALL 
3 
 
 
 
2. (New section) a. After March 1, 2026, whenever a public 
1 
entity is required by law or by order or rule of any court to publish 
2 
or advertise a legal notice, the public entity shall publish or 
3 
advertise the legal notice on the public entity’s official Internet 
4 
website.  The public entity’s official Internet website shall be 
5 
accessible and available to the public free of charge.  A direct 
6 
hyperlink to legal notices published on the public entity’s official 
7 
Internet website shall be conspicuously placed on the website’s 
8 
homepage.   
9 
 
b. No later than March 1, 2026, the Secretary of State, with 
10 
support from the Office of Information Technology and any other 
11 
State agency the secretary deems necessary, shall establish an 
12 
Internet webpage on which shall be included hyperlinks to the legal 
13 
notices webpage of each public entity created pursuant to 
14 
subsection a. of this section.  The legal notices hyperlink webpage 
15 
established by the secretary shall be accessible and available to the 
16 
public free of charge and shall be accessible by direct hyperlink 
17 
conspicuously placed on the Secretary of State’s Internet homepage.  
18 
Each public entity shall submit the hyperlink to the Secretary of 
19 
State and provide any updates thereto prior to effectuation. 
20 
 
c. 
No later than March 1, 2026, a public entity shall maintain 
21 
an Internet archive of legal notices that are no longer displayed, 
22 
which shall be kept for at least one year.  The archive shall not be 
23 
subject to any records retention schedule adopted by the State 
24 
Records Committee nor to the "Destruction of Public Records Law 
25 
(1953)," P.L.1953, c.410 (C.47:3-15 et seq.).  A public entity shall 
26 
display a legal notice on its legal notices Internet webpage for at 
27 
least one week, or other time period as required by law, before 
28 
transferring the publication to the public entity’s Internet archive.  
29 
A local government unit shall initially publish an Internet archive 
30 
no later than July 1, 2026 and shall maintain the archive thereafter.   
31 
 
d. A local government unit may, in addition to the publication 
32 
on its official Internet website pursuant to subsection a. of this 
33 
section, publish or advertise a legal notice separately on an eligible 
34 
online news publication that meets the criteria of subsection b. of 
35 
section 3 of P.L.    , c.     (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature 
36 
as this bill).  The local government unit shall provide a notice in a 
37 
prominent location on its official Internet website if it publishes or 
38 
advertises its legal notices in an online news publication and shall 
39 
publish a hyperlink to the online news publication. 
40 
 
41 
 
3. (New section) a.  (1) After March 1, 2026, whenever a 
42 
corporation, individual, or any other entity that is not a public entity 
43 
is required by law or by the order or rule of any court to publish or 
44 
advertise a legal notice, the corporation, individual, or other entity 
45 
shall publish or advertise the legal notice on an online news 
46 
publication that satisfies the requirements of subsection b. of this 
47 
section. 
48 


 
A5878 SCHNALL 
4 
 
 
 
(2) The corporation, individual, or other entity shall select an 
1 
online news publication based on the geographic target as 
2 
established or implied under the law, court order, or court rule 
3 
requiring publication. 
4 
 
b. To be an eligible online news publication under subsection 
5 
a. of this section, an online news publication shall: 
6 
 
(1) use a domain name for the Internet website that will be 
7 
easily recognizable and understandable to users of the website as 
8 
belonging to that online news publication; 
9 
 
(2) maintain the online news publication on the Internet in a 
10 
manner that is fully accessible and searchable by members of the 
11 
public at all times, other than during routine maintenance or 
12 
circumstances outside of the operator’s control; 
13 
 
(3) ensure that legal notices published or advertised on the 
14 
online news publication comply with the requirements that would 
15 
apply to the legal notices if they were published in a physical 
16 
newspaper, as applicable; 
17 
 
(4) maintain an archive for at least one year of notices that are 
18 
no longer displayed on the online news publication; 
19 
 
(5) display a legal notice for at least one week, or other time 
20 
period as required by law, before placing it in archive;  
21 
 
(6) enable legal notices, both those currently displayed and 
22 
those archived, to be accessed by key word, by party name, by case 
23 
number, by county, or other useful identifiers; 
24 
 
(7) maintain an adequate security system and develop a 
25 
contingency plan for coping with and recovering from power 
26 
outages, systemic failures, and other unforeseen circumstances;  
27 
 
(8) not charge a fee or require registration or a subscription to 
28 
view legal notices;  
29 
 
(9) maintain media liability insurance of up to $1 million;  
30 
 
(10) have been in continuous operation for at least three years, 
31 
which can be satisfied by the online news publication itself or by a 
32 
company that has a controlling or majority interest in the online 
33 
news publication; and  
34 
 
(11)  (a)  provide the number of monthly unique website visits 
35 
and monthly unique website visits by users in this State and in each 
36 
county, as evidenced by IP address or other appropriate identifier, 
37 
which shall be prominently displayed on the Internet homepage of 
38 
the online news publication along with the criteria provided in this 
39 
subsection, or a hyperlink to a webpage displaying such criteria, 
40 
and whether the online news publication meets each criteria.  
41 
 
(b)  (i)  To qualify as an online news publication eligible to 
42 
publish legal notices for municipal-wide circulation, the online 
43 
news publication shall receive 4,000 unique monthly visits on 
44 
average as calculated annually, no less than 50 percent of which 
45 
shall be from IP addresses within the applicable municipality or 
46 
within a 10-mile radius of the municipality.  
47 


 
A5878 SCHNALL 
5 
 
 
 
(ii) To qualify as an online news publication eligible to publish 
1 
legal notices for county-wide circulation, the online news 
2 
publication shall receive 50,000 unique monthly visits on average 
3 
as calculated annually, no less than 50 percent of which shall be 
4 
from IP addresses within the applicable county or within a 10-mile 
5 
radius of the county. 
6 
 
(iii) To qualify as an online news publication eligible to publish 
7 
legal notices for State-wide circulation, the online news publication 
8 
shall receive 350,000 unique monthly visits on average as 
9 
calculated annually, no less than 50 percent of which shall be from 
10 
IP addresses within the State. 
11 
 
c. 
The price to be paid for publishing all public notices or legal 
12 
notices in an online news publication pursuant to P.L.    , c.    
13 
(C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall not 
14 
exceed the rates established pursuant to R.S.35:2-1. 
15 
 
d. Unless otherwise provided pursuant to applicable law or 
16 
court rule or order, an online news publication that receives a legal 
17 
notice for publication pursuant to this section shall publish the 
18 
notice within 24 hours of receipt. 
19 
 
e. 
An online news publication that falsely represents that it 
20 
meets the criteria established pursuant to subsection b. of this 
21 
section and accepts legal notices for publication shall deemed to 
22 
have committed an unlawful practice under P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-
23 
1 et seq.) and liable to enforcement by the Attorney General 
24 
pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.). 
25 
 
26 
 
4. (New section) a. A public entity, corporation, or individual 
27 
required by law or by the order or rule of any court to publish or 
28 
advertise a legal notice shall publish or advertise the notice in 
29 
accordance with the applicable law or court order or rule.         
30 
 
b. A public entity, corporation, or individual shall be deemed to 
31 
satisfy their legal obligations to provide a legal notice upon 
32 
publication of the notice as required pursuant to P.L.    , c.    
33 
(C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). 
34 
 
c. 
Legal notices published on a public entity’s Internet website 
35 
or the Internet website of an online news publication in accordance 
36 
with P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this 
37 
bill) shall not be deemed defective if at least one of the following 
38 
circumstances exist:    
39 
 
(1) there is an error in the content or form of the legal notice 
40 
published or advertised on a public entity’s Internet website or 
41 
online news publication due to a clerical, administrative, or any 
42 
other error outside of the control of the public entity, corporation, or 
43 
individual required by law or court order or rule to publish the legal 
44 
notice; 
45 
 
(2) there is a temporary outage, technical malfunction, 
46 
disruption, or service interruption preventing the publishing, 
47 


 
A5878 SCHNALL 
6 
 
 
posting, or display of a legal notice on the public entity’s Internet 
1 
website or online news publication; 
2 
 
(3) the operator of the public entity’s Internet website or the 
3 
online news publication imposes standard restrictions that prevent 
4 
access to the website or online news publication;  
5 
 
(4) the public entity’s Internet website or the online news 
6 
publication is subject to a cyberattack or cybersecurity incident, 
7 
including but not limited to ransomware or a data breach, causing 
8 
the failure to timely or accurately publish the legal notice; or 
9 
 
(5) any other circumstances preventing the publishing, posting, 
10 
or display of a legal notice on the public entity Internet website or 
11 
online news publication that are outside of the control of the public 
12 
entity, corporation, or individual required by law or court order or 
13 
rule to publish the legal notice. 
14 
 
15 
 
5. (New section) a.  Starting on January 1, 2026 and at least 
16 
twice per month through December 31, 2026, a public entity 
17 
required by law or by the order or rule of any court to publish or 
18 
advertise a legal notice, or that elects to publish or advertise a legal 
19 
notice before that date pursuant to P.L.    , c.     (C.        ) (pending 
20 
before the Legislature as this bill), shall provide an advertisement in 
21 
an online news publication that meets the requirements of 
22 
subsection b. of section 3 of P.L.    , c.     (C.        ) (pending before 
23 
the Legislature as this bill), that: 
24 
 
(1) states that the complete text of each legal notice may be 
25 
obtained or viewed by the public on the official Internet website of 
26 
each public entity; and 
27 
 
(2) provides the hyperlink to the Secretary of State’s legal 
28 
notices hyperlink Internet webpage established pursuant to 
29 
subsection b. of section 2 of P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before 
30 
the Legislature as this bill). 
31 
 
b. Until the Secretary of State establishes the legal notices 
32 
hyperlinks Internet webpage pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 
33 
of P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this 
34 
bill), a public entity that elects to comply with the provisions of 
35 
P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) 
36 
shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of P.L.    , c.    
37 
(C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) without 
38 
publication of the public entity’s hyperlink on the Internet webpage 
39 
to be established pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of P.L.    , c.    
40 
(C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). 
41 
 
42 
 
6. R.S.40:53-2 is amended to read as follows:  
43 
 
40:53-2. a. All ordinances or other public notices which any 
44 
municipality, except cities, may be required by any law to publish, 
45 
where the manner of publication is not otherwise specifically 
46 
provided for, shall until March 1, 2026 be published either in at 
47 
least one newspaper published and circulating in the municipality, 
48 


 
A5878 SCHNALL 
7 
 
 
and if there be no such newspaper, then in at least one newspaper 
1 
published in the county in which the municipality is located and 
2 
circulating in the municipality or consistent with section 2 of 
3 
P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). 
4 
 
b. After March 1, 2026, all ordinances or other public notices 
5 
which any municipality, except cities, may be required by any law 
6 
to publish, where the manner of publication is not otherwise 
7 
specifically provided for, shall be published consistent with section 
8 
2 of P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this 
9 
bill). 
10 
(cf: R.S.40:53-2) 
11 
 
12 
 
7. N.J.S.40A:2-19 is amended to read as follows: 
13 
 
40A:2-19. a.    Publications required by this chapter shall, until 
14 
March 1, 2026, either in the case of a municipality, be in a 
15 
newspaper published and circulating in the municipality, if there be 
16 
one, and if not, in a newspaper published in the county and 
17 
circulating in the municipality.  In the case of a county, publications 
18 
shall be in a newspaper published at the county seat, if there be one, 
19 
and if not, in a newspaper published and circulating in the county.  
20 
For the purposes of this section, a newspaper shall not be deemed to 
21 
be published during any period of time in which the publication of 
22 
such newspaper shall be interrupted by any involuntary suspension 
23 
of publication resulting from loss, destruction, mechanical or 
24 
electric failure of typesetting equipment or printing presses or the 
25 
unavailability due to conditions beyond the control of the publisher, 
26 
of paper or other materials and supplies necessary for operation, or 
27 
resulting from a labor dispute with a recognized labor union or be 
28 
published consistent with section 2 or 3, as applicable, of P.L.    , c.    
29 
(C.        or C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). 
30 
 
b. After March 1, 2026 publications required by this chapter 
31 
shall be published consistent with section 2 or 3, as applicable, of 
32 
P.L.    , c.    (C.        or C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as 
33 
this bill). 
34 
(cf: P.L.1970, c.318, s.1) 
35 
 
36 
 
8. R.S.35:1-2.2 is amended to read as follows: 
37 
 
35:1-2.2. a. 
Whenever until March 1, 2026, by law, it is 
38 
required that there be published by printing and publishing in a 
39 
newspaper or newspapers, ordinances, resolutions or notices or 
40 
advertisements of any sort, kind, or character by any county, city, or 
41 
other municipality or municipal corporation, or by any municipal 
42 
board or official board, or body, or office, or officials, or by any 
43 
person or corporation, [such] the newspaper or newspapers [must] 
44 
shall, in addition to any other qualification now required by law, 
45 
meet the following qualifications, namely: [said] the newspaper or 
46 
newspapers shall be entirely printed in the English language, shall 
47 


 
A5878 SCHNALL 
8 
 
 
be printed and published within the State of New Jersey, shall be a 
1 
newspaper of general paid circulation possessing an average news 
2 
content of not less than 35 [%] percent, shall  have been published 
3 
continuously in the municipality where its publication office is 
4 
situate for not less than [2] two years and shall have been entered 
5 
for [2] two years as second-class mail matter under the postal laws 
6 
and regulations of the United States.  In case a newspaper cannot 
7 
meet these qualifications itself but has acquired another newspaper 
8 
which meets these qualifications, the acquiring newspaper shall be 
9 
deemed to meet these qualifications if it is published in the same 
10 
municipality and entered in the same post office as was the acquired 
11 
newspaper.  Continuous publication within the meaning of this 
12 
section shall not be deemed interrupted by any involuntary 
13 
suspension of publication for a period  not exceeding [6] six 
14 
months resulting from loss, destruction, mechanical or  electrical 
15 
failure of typesetting equipment or printing presses or the  
16 
unavailability, due to conditions beyond the control or the 
17 
publisher, of paper  or other materials and supplies necessary for 
18 
operation, or resulting from a  labor dispute with a recognized labor 
19 
union, and any newspaper so affected  shall not be disqualified 
20 
hereunder in the event that publication is resumed  within said 
21 
period of [6] six months. 
22 
 
For the purposes of this section and for the purpose of qualifying 
23 
for legal  advertisements generally, any newspaper which for not 
24 
less than [2] two years shall  have been continuously printed in a 
25 
building located within two municipalities  and which for not less 
26 
than [2] two years shall have continuously maintained its editorial 
27 
and business offices in said building shall be deemed to have been  
28 
published continuously in each of said municipalities during that 
29 
period and its publication office shall be deemed to have been 
30 
situate in each municipality during that period. 
31 
 
In the event any newspaper which shall have been qualified to 
32 
publish legal  advertisements shall move its publication office to 
33 
any municipality in the  same county or in an adjacent county in 
34 
this State and which shall otherwise continue to meet the 
35 
qualifications of this section, it shall be qualified to  publish legal 
36 
advertisements which it was qualified to publish prior to moving  
37 
said publication office for a period of [2] two years after the date 
38 
of the moving of its publication office or such period as [said] the 
39 
newspaper shall have the highest  paid circulation of any newspaper 
40 
within the county or municipality which shall use said newspaper 
41 
for legal advertisements. 
42 
 
b. In lieu of the requirements of subsection a. of this section, 
43 
whenever until March 1, 2026, by law, it is required that there be 
44 
published by printing and publishing in a newspaper or newspapers, 
45 
ordinances, resolutions or notices or advertisements of any sort, 
46 
kind, or character by any county, city, or other municipality or 
47 


 
A5878 SCHNALL 
9 
 
 
municipal corporation, or by any municipal board or official board, 
1 
or body, or office, or officials, or by any person or corporation, the 
2 
newspaper or newspapers may be published consistent with section 
3 
2 or 3, as applicable, of P.L.    , c.    (C.        or C.        ) (pending 
4 
before the Legislature as this bill). 
5 
 
c. 
After March 1, 2026 whenever, by law, it is required that 
6 
there be published by printing and publishing in a newspaper or 
7 
newspapers, ordinances, resolutions or notices or advertisements of 
8 
any sort, kind, or character by any county, city, or other 
9 
municipality or municipal corporation, or by any municipal board or 
10 
official board, or body, or office, or officials, or by any person or 
11 
corporation, the newspaper or newspapers shall be published 
12 
consistent with section 2 or 3, as applicable, of P.L.    , c.    (C.        
13 
or C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). 
14 
(cf: P.L.1979, c.84, s.1) 
15 
 
16 
 
9. Section 1 of P.L.2024, c.106, as amended by P.L.2025, c.22, 
17 
is amended to read as follows: 
18 
 
1. a. 
Notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation, or 
19 
municipal ordinance to the contrary, a newspaper utilized or 
20 
permitted to be utilized by a person for the purpose of complying 
21 
with any legal requirement, or a public body, as defined in section 3 
22 
of the "Open Public Meetings Act," P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-8), 
23 
from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024 for the purpose of 
24 
complying with R.S.35:1-2.2 or any other requirements for issuing 
25 
or publishing a public notice or legal advertisement, including, but 
26 
not limited to, for providing adequate notice of a meeting, the 
27 
solicitation of bids, qualifications, or proposals, or the publication 
28 
of any ordinances, synopses, or summaries of official documents, 
29 
shall be deemed eligible for the same purposes from January 1, 
30 
2025 to [June 30, 2025] March 1, 2026 if the newspaper’s 
31 
publication is in print or electronic format.  The price to be paid for 
32 
publishing all public notices or legal advertisements in print or 
33 
electronic format as described in this section shall not exceed the 
34 
rates established pursuant to R.S.35:2-1.  A fee shall not be 
35 
charged, and registration shall not be required, for viewing public 
36 
notices or legal advertisements published in an electronic format. 
37 
 
b. For the purposes of this section, "electronic format" means 
38 
an Internet website and other technology having electrical, digital, 
39 
magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities 
40 
that is operated by or for a newspaper for publication. 
41 
 
42 
 
10. This act shall take effect immediately. 
 
43 


 
A5878 SCHNALL 
10 
 
 
STATEMENT 
1 
 
2 
 
This bill provides that whenever a public entity, as defined in the 
3 
bill, is required by law or by order or rule of any court to publish or 
4 
advertise a legal notice, the public entity is to publish or advertise 
5 
the legal notice on the public entity’s official Internet website.  The 
6 
majority of the bill’s requirements are mandatory beginning March 
7 
1, 2026, and are optional until that date.  Under the bill, the public 
8 
entity’s official Internet website is to be accessible and available to 
9 
the public free of charge, and a direct hyperlink to legal notices 
10 
published on the public entity’s official Internet website is to be 
11 
conspicuously placed on the public entity’s Internet homepage.   
12 
 
The Secretary of State, with support from the Office of 
13 
Information Technology and any other State agency the secretary 
14 
deems necessary, is required to establish an Internet webpage which 
15 
includes the hyperlinks to the legal notices webpage of each public 
16 
entity.  The legal notices hyperlink webpage is to be accessible and 
17 
available to the public free of charge and be accessible by a direct 
18 
hyperlink that is conspicuously placed on the Secretary of State’s 
19 
homepage.  Each public entity is required to submit the entity’s 
20 
hyperlink to the Secretary of State and provide any updates thereto. 
21 
 
The bill provides that a public entity is required to maintain an 
22 
Internet archive of legal notices that are no longer displayed, which 
23 
are required to be kept for at least one year.  A public entity is 
24 
required to display a legal notice on its legal notices webpage for at 
25 
least one week, or other time period as required by law, before 
26 
transferring it to the archive.  Under the bill, a local government 
27 
unit is not required to maintain an archive until July 1, 2026. 
28 
 
Under the bill, a local government unit may in addition to the 
29 
publication on its official website, publish or advertise a legal 
30 
notice on an eligible online news publication that meets the criteria 
31 
as specified in the bill.   
32 
 
The bill also provides that whenever a corporation, individual, or 
33 
any other entity that is not a public entity is required by law or by 
34 
the order or rule of any court to publish or advertise a legal notice, 
35 
the corporation, individual, or other entity is to publish or advertise 
36 
the legal notice on an online news publication that satisfies the 
37 
eligibility requirements to function as an online news publication, 
38 
as specified in the bill.  For the year from January 1, 2026, a public 
39 
entity is required to provide an advertisement at least twice per 
40 
month in an eligible online news publication that: states that the 
41 
complete text of each legal notice may be obtained or viewed by the 
42 
public on the official Internet website of the public entity; and 
43 
provides the hyperlink to the Secretary of State’s legal notices 
44 
hyperlink Internet webpage, with exceptions provided in the bill. 
45 
 
Additionally, under current law, a newspaper utilized, or 
46 
permitted to be utilized, by a person or public body, as defined in 
47 
section 3 of the "Open Public Meetings Act," P.L.1975, c.231 
48 


 
A5878 SCHNALL 
11 
 
 
(C.10:4-8), from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024 for 
1 
the purpose of complying with any requirements for issuing or 
2 
publishing a public notice or legal advertisement, including, but not 
3 
limited to, for providing adequate notice of a meeting, the 
4 
solicitation of bids, qualifications, or proposals, or the publication 
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of any ordinances, synopses, or summaries of official documents, is 
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deemed eligible for the same purposes from January 1, 2025 to June 
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30, 2025 if the newspaper’s publication is in print or electronic 
8 
format.  This bill amends that law to provide that public bodies may 
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continue using qualifying newspapers for required public notices 
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and legal advertisements until March 1, 2026 regardless of format.   
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The bill is to take effect immediately. 
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