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Pinelands staff outline March 1 rollout and website changes after state legal‑notice law change
Summary
Staff said a state law shifting many legal‑notice requirements to online publication will require the commission to post conspicuous hyperlinks to a Secretary of State portal, maintain a one‑year searchable archive and confirm eligible online newspapers; the Secretary of State portal is expected live March 1, 2026 and public‑entity transition runs through Sept. 30, 2026.
Commission staff summarized a recent change to state law that moves many legal‑notice publication duties away from print newspapers and toward online publication and a centralized Secretary of State portal.
"03/01/2026 is the date that everything is expected to go live," staff presenter Stacy said. She explained the statute requires each public entity, including the Pinelands Commission, to create a conspicuous legal‑notice page on its website with hyperlinks to the Secretary of State hub and to maintain an archive of posted notices for at least one year.
Stacy said the change is intended to respond to declining print newspapers and to improve public access to legal notices through searchable, centralized online tools. Public entities have a transition window (Jan. 1–Sept. 30, 2026) during which they must post notices online and may continue optional newspaper publication; private entities must publish in eligible online newspapers that meet a set of objective criteria.
Staff cautioned that applicants will likely ask which online newspapers qualify, and that many publication criteria are complex (geographic reach, audience, archival/searchability). The commission will need website edits to host legal notices, an archival mechanism, and a process for sharing links with the Secretary of State and OIT.
Commissioners asked whether the updated law replaces municipal 200‑foot neighbor notification; staff clarified it does not — statutory municipal land‑use neighbor notices still apply. Staff said the commission will identify and confirm newspapers it typically uses for its hearings during the transition and provide guidance to applicants.
