TRENTON — One of the Assembly bills that died Mon., Jan. 9 after the Legislature took no vote on it would have allowed governments to self-post legally required public notifications on their own websites – in lieu of newspapers.
Known as A2082, with a similar Senate bill, the bill had been opposed by the New Jersey Press Association, of which the Herald is a member.
Proponents of the legislation claimed that governments would save money by not paying newspapers to print the notices, such as proposed ordinances and budgets, and instead posting to their own, government-controlled websites.
However, that notion did not take into consideration that many do not have access to the Internet, do not own computers, and cannot afford them.
The NJPA stated there was “notable lack of Internet access among significant percentages of citizens, e.g. seniors, minorities, and low-income families.”
It also cited “Loss of government transparency and loss of independent, third party verifiability,” among reasons for opposition.
The NJPA cited examples of the “digital divide” present in New Jersey:
• 63 percent of New Jersey’s seniors (65+) say they haven’t visited a website in the past 30 days. (Not read a newspaper? 12 percent.)
• 58 percent of New Jersey’s low-income citizens (under $30,000) say they haven’t visited a website in the past 30 days.
(Not read a newspaper? 23 percent.)
Had the legislation passed, those seeking to read legal notices would have had to access each government entity’s web site. Many municipalities and other government bodies do not keep their websites current. To do so requires additional manpower time from a reduced body of employees.
Publication of legal notices in newspapers, such as the Herald and Herald Times, allows the public to read about notices not only from their hometowns, but also from the county and other entities, all in one place.
Additionally, New Jersey legal notices are already online on the free, aggregated, statewide and fully searchable website operated by the N.J. Press Association:
www.njpublicnotices.com.
The NJPA will closely monitor any future movement by the Legislature to reintroduce similar legislation in the future Legislature.
Contact Campbell at (609) 886-8600 Ext 28 or at: al.c@cmcherald.com
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
