Temporary Fix To Public Notice Law Easily Approved In Nj Senate

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On June 30, 2025, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed Senate Bill No. 4654, which was introduced on June 16, 2025, into law, enacting significant reforms to the state’s requirements for the publication or advertisement of legal notices. Traditionally, legal notices are required to be published in printed newspapers to afford the public notice of municipal and county meetings. Since many print newspapers in New Jersey ended daily print publication, the new law revises the manner in which legal notices are to be communicated to the public. Effective March 1, 2026, all governmental and public entities will be required to publish or advertise legal notices electronically on their own official website. Such websites will be required to clearly link to legal notices on its home page and be accessible and available to the public without charge.

All governmental and public entities will be required to maintain public notices on the website for a minimum of a week, or the time required by law, before transferring the notice to archives and... A local government unit is not required to maintain an archive until July 1, 2026. The State is required to create a webpage under the Secretary of State’s website which links to the legal notice page for each public entity. Effective January 1, 2026, governmental entities may, in addition to the publication on its official Internet website, advertise a legal notice in an “eligible online news publication.” Any corporation, individual, or other entity that is not a public entity and is required by law or a court order or court rule to publish or advertise a legal notice will be required... Corporations, individuals, or other entities shall select an “online news publication” based on the geographic target as established or implied under the law, court order or court rules requiring publication.

The state Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a four-month extension of a law allowing public notices ― the tiny ads in print newspapers that make the public aware of municipal and county meetings, planning... The extension, which runs through June, also requires newspapers and online news publications that publish public notices to submit information to the governor and nonpartisan office of legislative services that includes the number of... The need for the shift to digital, lawmakers say, was sparked by the end of print publication of The Star-Ledger, Jersey Journal, The Times of Trenton and the South Jersey Times earlier this month. State Sen. Paul Sarlo, the bill’s sponsor, said the Legislature “needs to get this right.” “We were criticized during the Open Public Records Act adjustments and reforms, saying it was rushed.

We’re taking our time here with extensions to get this right. We’re fact-finding to get the data we need,” he said. “We want this to be as transparent as possible, where every person has the ability to get to it. We want to make sure, since we are spending money on it, that we are getting to the largest, widest audience as possible.” On June 30, 2025, Governor Murphy signed Senate Bill No. 4654 into law, marking a sweeping reform of the State’s legal notice laws, significantly changing how public notices are published and accessed.

Effective March 1, 2026, New Jersey will require that most legal notices be posted online, which is a shift away from traditional print newspapers in favor of government websites and online news platforms. According to the new law, all public entities, including municipalities, counties, and state agencies, must publish legal notices on their official websites. These websites must be accessible to the public free of charge, and a prominent hyperlink to the legal notices page must be placed on each website’s homepage. In addition, the Secretary of State is tasked with creating a centralized webpage that links to every public entity in the State’s legal notices to further ensure public access. Public entities must also maintain an online archive of their legal notices for at least one year. Importantly, private parties, such as developers, corporations, and other non-public entities, stand to benefit from new framework.

Private parties have legal requirement to post public notices in most land use matters, and in legal proceedings when ordered by Courts or as required by statute. Under the new requirements, non-public entities may publish public notices on a qualifying online news publication . Online publication will likely eliminate the long lead times for print publications that hindered developers and other private parties. The new law does not designate a specific list of qualified news publications, however, any online news publication must meet eligibility criteria, including audience size, geographic reach, free public access, searchable access, and archive... The legislation, however, does not eliminate the use of traditional media. Until March 1, 2026, legal notices may be published in eligible print newspapers or in accordance with the new online standards.

Additionally, public entities must advertise at least twice monthly in an eligible online news publication to inform the public where full legal notices may be viewed online and to provide a link to the... This legislation represents a pivotal change for New Jersey’s notice regime, offering faster publication, greater flexibility, and modernized access for the digital age. However, it also imposes new compliance responsibilities on government bodies and private parties. Public entities should begin reviewing their websites to ensure full compliance by the March 1, 2026, deadline. Likewise, developers and other businesses with legal notice obligations should ensure they identify and utilize online news publications that meet the statutory criteria. On June 30, 2025, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed Senate Bill No.

4654, which makes significant changes to the requirements for publication and advertisement of legal notices by New Jersey governmental and public entities. Prior to this new law, it had been well established that New Jersey governmental and public entities were required to publish legal notices in printed newspapers to afford the public notice and the ability... Under the new law, as of March 1, 2026, all New Jersey governmental and public entities will be required to publish or advertise legal notices on the municipality’s or entity’s official website. Specifically, the law states that “whenever a public entity is required by law or by order or rule of any court to publish or advertise a legal notice, the public entity shall publish or... 4654, 221st Leg. § 2 (N.J.

2025). All notices shall be published or advertised on the entity’s website for at least a week, or such other time as required by law. Under the new law, digital publication of such notices is optional until required on March 1, 2026. In order to ensure that the notice is publicly accessible, the new law regulates how online notices shall be handled by New Jersey governmental and public entities under this reform. All New Jersey governmental and public entities shall publish and/or advertise all legal notices on that entity’s official Internet website. Access to this website shall be free and publicly available.

The law requires that a direct hyperlink to this website “be conspicuously placed on the website’s homepage.” N.J. S.B. 4654 at § 2. Entities must publish or advertise legal notices no less than twice a month. “This stop-gap measure will give us time to establish a plan that both recognizes and utilizes technological advancements while maintaining the familiarity and transparency that constituents are accustomed to,” said Sen. Bucco.

“Now that it is signed into law, we can slow down the process, bring all stakeholders to the table, and ensure we find a solution that works for everyone.” Due to the impending closure of several major print newspapers in New Jersey, there has been confusion among local governments as to how to proceed while also staying in compliance with the Open Public... You can read the full bill (S-3957) here. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bipartisan bill sponsored by Senate Republican Leader Anthony M. Bucco (R-25), Deputy Majority Leader Paul Sarlo (D-36), and Senate President Nick Scutari (D-22) that would amend current law to allow public bodies to use the online version of their official designated newspaper to... “This stop-gap measure will give us time to establish a plan that both recognizes and utilizes technological advancements while maintaining the familiarity and transparency that constituents are accustomed to,” said Sen.

Bucco. “With this bill, we can slow down the process, bring all stakeholders to the table, and ensure we find a solution that works for everyone.” Due to the impending closure of several major print newspapers in New Jersey, there has been confusion among local governments as to how to proceed while also staying in compliance with the Open Public... You can read the full bill (S-3957) here. New Jersey Senate Republican OfficeNew Jersey State House PO Box 099Trenton, NJ 08625 New law offers ‘stop-gap’ for NJ public notices

Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill into law Dec. 31 aimed at addressing the issue of public notices as more local newspapers shutter. The bipartisan legislation (Assembly Bill 5151/Senate Bill 3957) allows public bodies to use the online version of their official designated newspaper to publish public notices and legal advertisements until March 31, 2025. As NJBIZ reported, the Star Ledger and other affiliated print publications will cease publishing early this year. The move prompted the pressing need for an interim solution for public entities to stay in compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act.

“This stop-gap measure will give us time to establish a plan that both recognizes and utilizes technological advancements while maintaining the familiarity and transparency that constituents are accustomed to,” said Senate Republican Leader Anthony... “Now that it is signed into law, we can slow down the process, bring all stakeholders to the table – and ensure we find a solution that works for everyone.” In response to the continued decline of local print newspapers and the growing need for reliable digital alternatives, the New Jersey Legislature passed the long-awaited public notice legislation, Senate Bill No. 4654, on June 30, 2025. This law is a permanent solution to the issue, as it extends and expands the guidance provided by the temporary relief addressed in March 2025. While the law takes effect immediately, most of its provisions do not become mandatory until March 1, 2026.

In the interim, the bill extends the temporary provisions, originally set to expire on June 30, 2025, through March 1, 2026. After March 1, 2026, public entities must publish their legal notices on their website, in a prominent place and accessible to the public free of charge. If the notice is not located on the public entity’s homepage, a hyperlink to the notice’s location must exist therein. Each public notice must be displayed for at least a week. In addition, public entities must establish an online archive of past legal notices, maintaining the expired notices for at least a year after removal from the website. The online publication requirement replaces the newspaper publication requirement.

However, public entities may, at their option, continue to publish public notices in print newspapers in addition to the website publication. The law also requires the Secretary of State to launch a centralized portal which will link each public entity’s legal notice webpage. This centralized portal is required to be launched by March 1, 2026, and public entities are required to submit their hyperlinks to the portal. In addition to posting notices on their website and submitting them to the Portal, public entities must also be proactive in notifying the public about this change. Beginning January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026, public entities must also place twice-monthly advertisements in “qualifying online news publications” which inform the public that the full legal notice is available on its website. The publication must also include a hyperlink to the location of the notice on the website, and hyperlink to the Secretary of State’s portal.

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