The proposed bill, General Assembly Proposed Bill No. 5137, aims to establish a refundable tax credit for news organizations that focus on covering local communities within the state. The bill introduces new legal language that specifies a tax credit amount of fifteen thousand dollars for each journalist employed by the organization and twenty-five thousand dollars for each new journalist hired. Additionally, there is a cap set at one hundred fifty thousand dollars on the total amount of tax credits a news organization can receive.

This initiative is designed to support local journalism by providing financial incentives to news organizations, thereby encouraging the hiring of journalists and enhancing coverage of local issues. The bill does not indicate any deletions from current law, focusing solely on the introduction of this new tax credit structure.