This bill establishes a framework for advertisement set-asides specifically for eligible local news organizations in New Jersey. It mandates that every State agency required to advertise bid solicitations allocate at least 30 percent of its total advertising spending to these organizations. For agencies that can demonstrate a need to spend less than 30 percent of their advertising revenue in-state, at least 50 percent of that in-state spending must still go to eligible local news organizations. The bill also allows State agencies to apply for exemptions from these requirements if they can show that the advertising purposes are inconsistent with placement in an eligible local news organization publication.

Additionally, the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium is tasked with creating and maintaining a list of eligible local news organizations, while the Department of the Treasury must publish the criteria for eligibility on its website within three months of the bill's effective date. The bill requires advertising or marketing agencies contracting with the State to report their total advertising spending quarterly, and it mandates that State agencies report specific advertising spending information to the Department of the Treasury annually. Furthermore, the Department is required to publish a cumulative report of this advertising spending information on its website within two years after the fiscal year following the bill's enactment.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 18A:64-97