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New state law will shift Toms River school legal notices primarily online starting March 2026, district says
Summary
District counsel briefed the board on Senate Bill S4654, which requires public entities to post legal notices on their websites starting March 1, 2026, keep notices posted for at least one week and archive for a year; the district said it already posts notices online and will comply with the transitional twice‑monthly web-and-paper requirement through 2026.
Mister Burns briefed the board on implementation of Senate Bill S4654, which Governor Murphy signed on June 30, 2025. Burns said the law requires public entities to post legal notices conspicuously on their websites beginning March 1, 2026, keep each notice posted for at least one week, archive notices for one year and provide a link to the Secretary of State for inclusion in a centralized public‑notices database.
"Beginning in 03/01/2026, public entities must publish their legal notices on their website in a conspicuous location," Burns told the committee, adding the district has already complied with online posting and is preparing to meet the archival and link requirements once the Secretary of State's database is active.
Burns noted a transition period in 2026: from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026, the district is required to publish notices twice per month both on its website and in newspapers (the district is complying), after which print publication will no longer be necessary for many notices. He said the Secretary of State’s central database is not yet operational but the district has emailed the office to prepare for future linkage.
Board members asked whether a short digital blurb directing readers to the web posting would be sufficient for newspaper publication; staff confirmed the district will publish notices in the paper (with the web reference) during the transition period and the full notice will be available on the district website and then archived.
There were no formal actions taken during the briefing; staff said they will continue to update procedures to comply with the statute’s posting, archival and Secretary of State link requirements.
