Panel hears bill to fund local journalism with a tech platform surcharge
Substitute SB 5,400 would create a Washington Local News Sustainability Program funded by a surcharge on large covered platforms, with grant priorities for small newsrooms and a fellowship at WSU. Supporters including newspapers and local nonprofts called it essential to preserve local reporting; tech and business groups warned of legal risk and unintended costs.
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Jarrett Sacks, staff to the Labor and Commerce Committee, briefed substitute SB 5,400, which would establish a Washington Local News Sustainability Program in the Department of Commerce. The program would distribute grants to eligible news organizations that meet minimum staffing thresholds; a fraction of funds would be reserved for outlets with 10 or fewer journalists. Funding would be provided from a local journalism investment surcharge on covered platforms (social media/search platforms with gross income above specified thresholds), capped per platform annually.
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