New Jersey S 3744: Prohibits appeal of land use decision related to holding meeting electronically.

Bill Text

S3744 1R 

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 3744 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

INTRODUCED MARCH 5, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� ANDREW ZWICKER

District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)

Senator� ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT

District 31 (Hudson)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators Wimberly, McKeon, Diegnan, Greenstein, Johnson, 
Mukherji, Turner and Timberlake

SYNOPSIS

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

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

���� As reported by the Senate State Government, Wagering, 
Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee on June 11, 2026, with 
amendments.

�� 

An Act establishing 
1[advertisement] advertising1 
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.� 
1�Advertising� means the discretionary use of media 
to promote products, programs, or services, regardless of the medium employed.

����� c.1� �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[(1)]1 holds a valid United States Postal Service 
periodical permit or 1[(2)]1 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 1[subsection c. or d.] 
paragraph (3) or (4)1 of this 1[section] subsection1;

����� (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 err