LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
SENATE, No. 4654
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
DATED: JUNE 27, 2025
SUMMARY
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Synopsis: |
Provides for publication of required legal notices on government Internet websites and through certain online news publications. |
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Type of Impact: |
State and local cost increases in the first year; State and local savings thereafter. |
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Agencies Affected: |
Secretary of State; Local Government Units; Other Public Entities. |
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Office of Legislative Services Estimate |
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Fiscal Impact |
Year 1 |
Year 2 and Thereafter |
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State Expenditures |
Indeterminate Increase |
Indeterminate Savings |
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Local Expenditures |
Indeterminate Increase |
Indeterminate Savings |
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· The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that that bill may result in increased State and local government administrative costs in the first year after enactment associated with the bill’s requirement for: 1) public entities to establish an Internet webpage for the purpose of publishing legal notices and advertisements; and 2) the Secretary of State to establish an Internet webpage that links to the legal notices Internet webpage of each public entity.
· The bill is also expected to result in cost savings to local government units by allowing local government units to publish certain notices, ordinances, resolutions, and other documents on the local government unit’s Internet website rather than in print newspapers or online news publications, for which there are fees. A portion of these cost savings would be expected beginning no later than March 2026, and full cost savings in January 2027.
BILL DESCRIPTION
The bill provides that whenever a public entity, as defined in the bill, is required by law or by order or rule of any court to publish or advertise a legal notice, the public entity is to publish or advertise the legal notice on the public entity’s official Internet website. The majority of the bill’s requirements are mandatory beginning March 1, 2026, and are optional until that date. Under the bill, the public entity’s official Internet website is to be accessible and available to the public free of charge, and a direct hyperlink to legal notices published on the public entity’s official Internet website is to be conspicuously placed on the public entity’s Internet homepage.
Under the bill, the Secretary of State, with support from the Office of Information Technology and any other State agency the secretary deems necessary, is required to establish an Internet webpage which includes the hyperlinks to the legal notices webpage of each public entity. The legal notices hyperlink webpage is to be accessible and available to the public free of charge and be accessible by a direct hyperlink that is conspicuously placed on the Secretary of State’s homepage. Each public entity is required to submit the entity’s hyperlink to the Secretary of State and provide any updates thereto.
The bill provides that a public entity is required to maintain an Internet archive of legal notices that are no longer displayed, which are required to be kept for at least one year. A public entity is required to display a legal notice on its legal notices webpage for at least one week, or other time period as required by law, before transferring it to the archive. Under the bill, a local government unit is not required to maintain an archive until July 1, 2026.
Under the bill, a local government unit may, in addition to the publication on its official website, publish or advertise a legal notice on an eligible online news publication that meets the criteria as specified in the bill.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS concludes that that bill may result in increased State and local government administrative costs in the first year after enactment associated with the bill’s requirement for: 1) public entities to establish an Internet webpage for the purpose of publishing legal notices and advertisements; and 2) the Secretary of State to establish an Internet webpage that links to the legal notices Internet webpage of each public entity.
The bill requires public entities to publish or advertise legal notices on the public entity’s official Internet website for no less than one week, and maintain an Internet archive of legal notices for one year beginning no later than March 1, 2026, except that a local government unit is to establish and maintain an archive no later than July 1, 2026. While it is expected that most public entities already operate an Internet website, to the extent that a public entity does not currently operate an Internet website to which it can add the required webpages to fulfill the bill’s requirements, the public entity would likely experience an increase in administrative costs to establish such an Internet website. The OLS is unable to determine the number of public entities that do not currently maintain an Internet website and, therefore, would experience costs associated with establishing a new Internet website. Public entities that currently operate an Internet website may also experience modest administrative costs associated with establishing the required legal notices webpage. The Secretary of State, with support from the Office of Information Technology, is also required to establish and maintain an Internet webpage that links to the legal notices webpage of each public entity created pursuant to the bill. Each public entity is required to submit its link to the Secretary of State for inclusion on the Secretary of State’s Internet webpage. The Secretary of State may incur modest administrative costs to establish and maintain such a webpage.
The bill is also expected to result in cost savings to public entities, including local government units, by eventually requiring them to publish certain notices, ordinances, resolutions, and other documents on the public entity’s Internet website rather than in print newspapers or online news publications. A portion of these cost savings would be expected beginning no later than March 2026, and full cost savings in January 2027. Until March 1, 2026, public entities may elect to publish certain documents, including, but not limited to, ordinances, resolutions, bond notices, and other notices or advertisements, on the local government unit’s Internet website rather than in a print newspaper or online news publication; these publication requirements are to become mandatory after March 1, 2026. However, for the duration of calendar year 2026, public entities, including local government units, are required to advertise, twice per month, in an online news publication that information concerning legal notices can be obtained on the official Internet website of the public entity. The OLS is unable to estimate the amount that each public entity, including local government units, is currently expending on fees to news publications to meet the requirements for public notices under current law, and is therefore unable to estimate the exact cost savings that local governments are expected to experience as a result of the bill’s provisions that revise and ease existing publication requirements and mandates.
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Section: |
Local Government |
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Analyst: |
Senior Fiscal Analyst |
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Approved: |
Thomas Koenig Legislative Budget and Finance Officer |
This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.
This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).