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A4100
ASSEMBLY, No. 4100
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� LINDA S. CARTER
District 22 (Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
���� Concerns certain streaming services and public
broadcasting funding.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning certain streaming services and public
broadcasting funding and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� The Legislature finds
and declares that public, educational, and governmental channels play an
important role in the dissemination of public and community affairs,
educational, cultural, instructional, and emergency information to the public
at large within the State.� This act ensures the continued support for these
channels.
���� 2.��� a.� As used in
P.L. , c.
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill:�
���� �Authority�
means the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority
or any successor agency.
���� �Board�
means the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities or any successor agency.
���� �Customer�
means any individual or legal entity in New Jersey who receives video streaming
entertainment services and does not further distribute such services.
���� �Fund�
means
the �Streaming
Entertainment Fund� established pursuant to subsection c. of this section.
���� �Gross receipts� means all
revenue received directly or indirectly by a streaming entertainment service
provider arising from, attributable to, or in any way derived from the sale of video
streaming entertainment services in New Jersey.� �Gross receipts� shall not
include bad debts, investment income, refunded deposits, or any taxes on
services furnished by streaming entertainment service providers and imposed
directly upon any user by the local, state, federal or other governmental unit.
���� �Public broadcasting� means
the same as that term is defined in section 2 of P.L.1968, c.405 (C.48:23-2).
���� �Public, educational, and
governmental channel� means a non-commercial local programming cablecast
without advertising for use by individuals in a community; for use by school
systems and colleges according to local needs and the franchise; or for use by
governmental entities to cablecast public meetings, governmental messages and
other information.� Public, educational, and governmental channel does not
include any channel owned, controlled, managed, and programmed by a local cable
operator.
���� �Streaming entertainment
service provider� means an individual, corporation or other legal entity that
provides video streaming entertainment service to customers and earns more than
$250,000 in annual gross receipts for providing video streaming entertainment
services.
���� �Video programming� means the
same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1972, c.186 (C.48:5A-3).
���� �Video streaming entertainment
service� means any service that is delivered through facilities on or in part
on the public rights-of-way that provides video programming primarily for the
purpose of entertainment for a fee on a subscription basis to a customer.�
�Video streaming entertainment service� shall not include any cable service
defined in 47 U.S.C. s.522(6).
���� b.���
Notwithstanding any law,
rule, regulation, or order to the contrary, there is imposed on each streaming
entertainment service provider an assessment at the rate of five percent of the
streaming entertainment service provider�s gross receipts.� Each streaming
entertainment service provider shall file, in a manner prescribed by the Board
of Public Utilities, on or before July 1 of each year:
���� (1)�� a financial statement reporting its gross
receipts for the previous calendar year or portion of the previous calendar
year after the effective date of
P.L. ,
c. (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill)
; and
���� (2)�� payment for any corresponding assessment.
���� c.���� There is established in the Board of
Public Utilities a nonlapsing fund to be known as the �Streaming Entertainment
Fund.� �The fund shall be administered by the board and shall be credited with:
���� (1)�� moneys deposited into the fund by the
board pursuant to subsection b. of this section;
���� (2)�� moneys that are appropriated by the
Legislature; and
���� (3)�� any return on investment of moneys
deposited in the fund.
Moneys in the fund shall be used by the board solely
for the purpose of supporting public broadcasting and public, educational, and
governmental channels and dispersed in a manner prescribed by the board, in
consultation with the authority.
����
d.��� The board shall, in
accordance with the �Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1
et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement this
act.
���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes a
statutory mechanism for supporting public, educational, and governmental
channels which play an important role in the dissemination of public and
community affairs, educational, cultural, instructional, and emergency information
to the public at large within the State.�
���� This bill
imposes on each streaming
entertainment service provider an assessment at the rate of five percent of the
streaming entertainment service provider�s gross receipts.� The bill further
creates the �Streaming Entertainment Fund� and requires the New Jersey Board of
Public Utilities, in consultation with the New Jersey
Public Broadcasting Authority, to disperse moneys from the
fund
solely for
the purpose of supporting public broadcasting and public, educational, and
governmental channels.
���� As used in the bill, �video streaming
entertainment service� means any service that is delivered through facilities
on or in part on the public rights-of-way that provides video programming
primarily for the purpose of entertainment for a fee on a subscription basis to
a customer.� As used in the bill, the term shall not include any cable service
defined in 47 U.S.C. s.522(6).