Establishes advertisement set-asides for eligible local news organizations.

A4677

ASSEMBLY, No. 4677

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� LOUIS D. GREENWALD

District 6 (Burlington and Camden)

Assemblywoman� LINDA S. CARTER

District 22 (Somerset and Union)

Assemblywoman� MITCHELLE DRULIS

District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Simmons, Assemblyman Egan, Assemblywoman
Murphy, Assemblyman Freiman, Assemblywomen Morales, Park, Collazos-Gill,
Speight, Assemblyman DeAngelo, Assemblywoman Rowan, Assemblyman Angelozzi,
Assemblywoman Brennan, Assemblymen Karabinchak and Tully

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes advertisement set-asides for eligible
local news organizations.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

establishing advertisement set-asides for
eligible local news organizations, amending P.L.2018, c.111, and supplementing
Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1. �(New section) �The
Legislature finds and declares that:

���� a.� New Jersey residents
benefit from robust local news services that provide trusted and essential
information to the community, encourage transparency, accountability, and
citizen participation, help combat misinformation, and mitigate community and
individual alienation.

���� b.� Local news organizations in
the State and throughout the country are struggling with newspaper advertising,
which, according to the Pew Research Center, has decreased by 82 percent
nationally since 2000. �This loss of advertising has led to newspaper closures,
a 75 percent drop in the number of reporters on average nationwide, and,
according to a recent study, New Jersey specifically employed the lowest number
of journalists per capita in the nation at fewer than five journalists per
100,000 residents.

���� c.� Local news organizations
are trusted sources of information for communities throughout the State, and
monies spent on advertising with these organizations provide for the effective
dissemination of important government information to the communities they
serve.

���� d.� Government initiatives to
increase spending on local news advertising have been successful in both
supporting local news organizations and in producing a well-informed citizenry.

���� e.� The State can implement an
advertising set-aside and transparency policy while preserving the editorial
independence of local news organizations selling advertising space.� Moreover,
the State acknowledges that any diversion of advertising spending that has the
effect or appearance of an attempt to influence the editorial content of a
local news organization violates the federal and State guarantees of freedom of
the press and freedom of speech.

���� 2. �(New section) As used in this
act:

���� a.� �Advertising or marketing
agency� means any agency that creates, plans, and manages advertising campaigns
or marketing strategies, or both, for clients.

���� b.� �Eligible local news
organization� means an entity that:

���� (1)� engages professionals or
students to create, edit, produce, and distribute original content concerning
matters of public interest through reporting activities including, but not
limited to, conducting interviews, observing current events, or analyzing
documents or other information;

���� (2)� has at least one person,
which can include a sole proprietor, working at least 30 hours a week to
provide coverage of the local community and living within the State, who
gathers, prepares, collects, photographs, writes, edits, reports, or publishes
original local or State news for dissemination to the local or State community;

���� (3)� in the case of a local
newspaper or publication published solely as a print edition, has published at
least one print publication per month over the previous 12 months and either (1)
holds a valid United States Postal Service periodical permit or (2) has at
least 25 percent of its content dedicated to local news;

���� (4)� in the case of a local,
digital-only newspaper or online news publication, has published an average of
three original news pieces about the local community or the State per week over
the previous 12 months and, within a 12-month period, has at least 50 percent
of its digital audience in the State;

���� (5)� in the case of a local
news organization that publishes both print editions and online news
publications, meets the requirements of either subsection c. or d. of this section;

���� (6) �has disclosed in its
print publication or on its Internet website its beneficial ownership or, in
the case of a not-for-profit entity, its board of directors;

���� (7)� maintains and publicly
displays an editorial policy for error correction and clarification that
includes an accessible process for reporting errors or complaints to the
eligible local news organization;

���� (8)� has not received more
than 50 percent of its gross receipts for the previous year from political
action committees or other entities organized under section 527 of the federal
Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. s.527), or from an organization that maintains
a section 501(c)(4), (c)(5), or (c)(6) status under the federal Internal
Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. s.501);

���� (9)� has media liability
insurance coverage of at least $1,000,000; and

���� (10)� has been in operation,
or its parent company has been in operation, for at least two years.

���� c.� �State agency� means any
of the principal departments in the Executive Branch of State Government, any
division, board, bureau, office, commission, or other instrumentality created
by a principal department, and any independent State authority.

���� 3. �(New section) �a.� (1)� Beginning
in the fiscal year next following the effective date of P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and each fiscal year
thereafter, every State agency required to advertise bid solicitations pursuant
to P.L.1954, c.48 (C.52:34-6 et seq.) shall allocate at least 30 percent of its
total advertising spending for eligible local news organizations.

���� (2)� For State agencies that
demonstrate the need to spend less than 30 percent of their advertising revenue
in-State, at least 50 percent of that in-State spend shall be spent with eligible
local news organizations.

���� b.� A State agency may consult
with third party organizations to ensure compliance with the provisions of
P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

���� c.� Notwithstanding the
provisions of subsection a. of this section, a State agency may apply for an
exemption from the provisions of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before
the Legislature as this bill) upon showing to the Department of the Treasury
that the purposes of the advertising are inconsistent with placement in an
eligible local news organization publication. �If a State agency applies for an
exemption pursuant to this subsection, the State Treasurer may grant an
exemption, but shall reject the application for an exemption if the State
Treasurer determines that the objectives of the advertising can be served as
effectively or better through placement in an eligible local news organization
publication.

���� d.� A State agency shall not
discriminate among eligible local news organizations based on editorial
content, unless that content is objectively relevant to the articulated
purposes of the advertising.

���� 4. �(New section) a.� The New
Jersey Civic Information Consortium, established pursuant to section 3 of
P.L.2018, c.111 (C.18A:64-96), shall create and maintain a list of eligible
local news organizations.� Such list shall include any organization that
qualifies as an eligible local news organization pursuant to section 2 of
P.L.�� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

���� b.� No later than three months
after the effective date of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill), the Department of the Treasury shall publish on its
Internet website, in an easily accessible location, the criteria to qualify as
an eligible local news organization pursuant to section 2 of P.L.��� , c.���
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).

���� 5. �(New section) a.� Any advertising
or marketing agency that contracts with the State shall report to the
contracting State agency the total amount of advertising spending on at least a
quarterly basis.

���� b.� Beginning one year after
the fiscal year next following the effective date of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.�������
) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and each year thereafter, every
State agency shall report to the Department of the Treasury the following
information, at a minimum:

���� (1)� the total amount of
advertising spending categorized by the type of media platforms that received
advertising;

���� (2)� the total amount of
advertising spending with eligible local news organizations; and

���� (3)� the specific recipients
of the advertising spending, including which eligible local news organizations
received which individual advertising contracts and the amounts of such
contracts.

���� b.� Within two years after the
end of the fiscal year next following the effective date of P.L.��� , c.����
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and every year
thereafter, the Department of the Treasury shall publish on its Internet
website, in an easily accessible location, a cumulative report that shall
include, but not be limited to:

���� (1)� the operative list of eligible
local news organizations;

���� (2)� the cumulative total
amount of advertising spending categorized by the type of media platforms that
received advertising;

���� (3)� the cumulative total
amount of advertising spending with eligible local news organizations; and

���� (4)� the specific recipients
of the advertising spending, including which eligible local news organizations
received which individual advertising contracts and the amounts of such
contracts.

���� 6.� Section 4 of P.L.2018,
c.111 (C.18A:64-97) is amended to read as follows:

���� 4. a. The consortium shall
have a board of directors that shall set strategic priorities and metrics to
guide the consortium's grant-making and other initiatives,
such as creating
and maintaining the eligible local news organization list pursuant to section 4
of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill),

as well as to approve grants pursuant to section 7 of P.L.2018, c.111
(C.18A:64-100).

���� b.��� The board of directors
shall consist of 16 members as follows:

���� (1) two members appointed by
the Governor who shall not be of the same political party;

���� (2) one member appointed by
the President of the Senate, and one member appointed by the Minority Leader of
the Senate;

���� (3) one member appointed by
the Speaker of the General Assembly, and one member appointed by the Minority
Leader of the General Assembly;

���� (4) six members, no more than
four of whom shall be of the same political party, appointed by the president
of each member university, each of whom shall have background or experience in
the field of journalism, media, or technology; and

���� (5) four members, no more than
two of whom shall be of the same political party, appointed by a majority vote
of the 12 board members appointed pursuant to paragraphs (1) through (4) of
this subsection, of which: (a) one member shall represent the media sector; (b)
one member shall represent the technology sector; and (c) two members, not
employed by the State or a member university at the time of the member's
appointment, shall have demonstrated a record of commitment to public service
and understand the importance of media and technology to the State's future.

���� c.���� Each board member shall
serve a term of four years and shall serve in one of four classes as determined
by the board of directors. Members of the first class shall serve an initial
term of one year, the second class an initial term of two years, the third
class an initial term of three years, and the fourth class an initial term of
four years. No board member shall serve more than two four-year terms.� In the
appointment of members to the board, every effort shall be made to strive for
diversity and balance of representation according to gender, race, ethnicity,
and geography within any limits allowed under law.� Any vacancies in the
appointed membership of the board occurring other than by expiration of term
shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment, but for the
unexpired term only.� Board members shall serve without compensation, but may
be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their
duties within the limits of funds available to the board.

(cf: P.L.2023, c.323, s.1)

���� 7. �This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes
advertisement set-asides for eligible local news organizations.

���� Under current law, State bid
solicitations are required to be advertised unless the solicitation meets
certain qualifications for exemption from advertisement.� This bill provides
that every State agency required to advertise bid solicitations must allocate
at least 30 percent of its total advertising spending for eligible local news
organizations, except for State agencies that demonstrate the need to spend
less than 30 percent of their advertising revenue in-State, in which case at
least 50 percent of that in-State spend must be spent with eligible local news
organizations.

���� A State agency may apply for
an exemption from the requirements of the bill upon showing to the Department
of the Treasury that the purposes of the advertising are inconsistent with
placement in an eligible local news organization publication.

���� The New Jersey Civic
Information Consortium will be required to create and maintain a list of
eligible local news organizations.� The Department of the Treasury will be
required to publish on its Internet website the criteria to qualify as an
eligible local news organization no later than three months after the effective
date of the bill.

���� The bill provides that any advertising
or marketing agency that contracts with the State will report to the
contracting State agency the total amount of advertising spending on at least a
quarterly basis.� Beginning one year after the fiscal year next following the
effective date of the bill, every State agency will be required to report
certain advertising spending information to the Department of the Treasury.�
Within two years after the end of the fiscal year next following the effective
date of the bill, the Department of the Treasury will be required to publish a cumulative
report of certain advertising spending information for the State on its
Internet website.