Temporary Relief to Public Notice Requirement in Printed Publications

Nearly 50 years ago, the New Jersey Legislature approved the Open Public Meeting Act (P.L. 1975, Chapter 231), popularly known as the “Sunshine Law.” In the wake of the Vietnam War and Watergate, the Act was the Legislature’s attempt to preserve the public’s trust in local government units. One such solution was to require public notice of meetings in at least two newspapers designated by the governing body (including boards of education).

Since then, boards of education and local governments have relied on local publications within their communities to satisfy this requirement, which requires notices to appear in a print edition of a newspaper. As these publications began to decline following the advent of the internet, public bodies began to rely on larger, regional newspapers. Unfortunately, these publications were not immune from the changes of the newspaper industry’s reliance on digital media and limited resources.

Following the October 2024 announcement that the Star-Ledger, the Times of Trenton, the South Jersey Times and the Hunterdon County Democrat would be ceasing their print publications in early 2025, the New Jersey Legislature recognized the need to adapt the Open Public Meeting Act to acknowledge the dwindling publication options.

On December 31, 2024, mere hours before local governments and boards of education begin their re-organization process, Governor Murphy signed A5151/S3957 into law. This stop-gap legislation provides temporary relief for the posting of public notices, permitting public bodies to continue using newspapers eligible in 2024 for required public notices and legal advertisements regardless of the format, from January 1, 2025 through March 1, 2025. Thus, newspapers that will be solely digital may be used for this temporary period and satisfy the notice publication requirement.

Further, the law prohibits publishers from increasing the prices already set for print publications for digital postings.

Whereas the measures of this law only permit electronic posting through March 1st, we expect a long-term solution will be discussed in the Legislature’s upcoming session. Our office will provide updates about any subsequent changes to the posting requirements.