At a time when we appreciate freedom of the press more than ever and worry about its survival, it would be bad policy for the Legislature to take the business of publishing legal notices from newspapers and allow municipalities to post notices on their own websites instead. But that is exactly what a bill—fast-tracked with Gov. Christie’s support—would have done. Fortunately, after being met with a public outcry, the measure was withdrawn. It should not come back.

Opponents of the legislation, with whom we agree, were concerned about transparency and openness. Although proponents claimed that the measure would save towns money, the Office of Legislative Services estimated that the average local government among the state’s 565 municipalities would save about $14,160 per year. The League of Municipalities surveyed its members in 2015 and found the average cost of the 147 towns responding was $7,150. The governor’s office, without substantiation, claimed that annual savings would be $80 million, while the New Jersey Press Association claimed that only $20 million is actually spent on the notices of which only $8 million is paid by taxpayers. These sums represent a significant source of revenue for New Jersey newspapers—dailies and weeklies—which are already struggling financially and have not seen an increase in the cost of legal ads for more than 30 years. Layoffs would have been inevitable; some weeklies might have closed.

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