Nicholas Pugliese and Bob Jordan

@nickpugz and @bobjordanapp

TRENTON – A fast-tracked bill, poised to end government-paid public notices in newspapers and reshape the state’s media landscape, has oversight groups raising the alarm about lost transparency for taxpayers.

Sponsors of the measure, though, say it will save towns money by posting notices on the internet, but even the Legislature’s own review body said it could actually cost taxpayers more in the long run.

READ: Toms River driver hung up over EZPass toll violation

Paid public notices by local governments, school boards and counties are used to allow residents to find out about the plans of government officials, weigh in on proposals before a rule or law is made, or learn about things such as tax increases, staff raises, building developments and contract bids.

The notices are printed records of messages that can’t be hacked or altered, good government advocates said Tuesday.

“In this proposed change, taxpayers are going to have to search for this information on any number of government websites, trying to figure out where it is, rather than having it centralized in one public form, which looks like a big downside,’’ said Gregg Leslie, legal defense director at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in Washington, D.C. “That hurts transparency by making things more obscure. If they could do it in a way where people would know where to go on every government website, it would be different, but governments don’t always do things the easiest way. ‘’

MORE: Last call for Obamacare?

Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, R-Somerset, a candidate for the GOP nomination for governor in next year’s election, said it could be a mistake to have governments handle all aspects of public notices for bid work involving taxpayer money -- including the advertising of bids.

“Certainly there is concern about the manner in which towns and counties will provide transparency and full disclosure. I’m not sure the bill is adequate in that respect. Who’s going to do the policing here?’’ Ciattarelli said.

Bill S-2855/A-4429 will be considered by two legislative committees in Trenton on Thursday.

“No other state has abolished public notices in newspapers simply because doing so would hurt the taxpayer,” said Thomas Donovan, chairman of the New Jersey Press Association and northeast regional president of the Gannett East group, which includes the Asbury Park Press and six other media properties in New Jersey.

“Government-run websites, where future notices would be posted if this bill goes through, would tempt elected officials to change, delete or delay embarrassing government notices, especially during election time,” Donovan said. “This is a measure that will not only hide government actions from the public but also kill hundreds of media jobs across the state and possibly shut down many weekly news operations.”

Some critics also questioned the timing of the bill, which was introduced on the same day as a separate measure to allow Gov. Chris Christie to cash in on a book deal while in office in exchange for raises for lawmakers’ staffs, judges, county prosecutors and other officials. One legislative source told USA Today/New Jersey over the weekend that the legal notices bill was meant to punish the state’s newspapers.

When a similar and unsuccessful version of the bill was introduced in 2011, the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services said it could not determine the measure’s financial impact on local governments. Citing the New Jersey Press Association, it estimated that local governments spend approximately $20 million on legal notices annually, about 60 percent of which is reimbursed by private entities.

Spread across the state’s 565 municipalities, the average local government could save about $14,160 by publishing notices digitally, based on the numbers cited by the Office of Legislative Services.

“However,” its report continued, “to the extent that the State and local governments have to hire additional personnel to handle intake and processing of local notice publication requests, or increase their information technology capacity in order to provide for the establishment of a public notice website, these entities may incur additional costs.”

MORE: Trump carrier deal mimics NJ economic policy

Bill sponsors said the proposal is motivated by a desire to help reduce tax bills.

“I think it’s going to save money, so that’s why I support it,” said sponsor Sen. Mike Doherty, R-Warren.“It’s tough financial times for local and county governments, so if there’s a way for us to meet this legal requirement and save some money, I think it’s a good thing.”

Another gubernatorial hopeful, Assemblyman John Wisniewski, D-Middlesex, in a statement vowed to oppose the bill and called it a continuation of “Christie’s constant and petty need for revenge and transactional politics at its worst.”

“This is nothing more than a politically motivated crackdown on the press in New Jersey,” Wisniewski said. “Gov. Christie is seeking retribution for the public service New Jersey’s newspapers provided with their fair, in-depth reporting during the Bridgegate scandal."

“Instead of enabling revenge, we should be putting the governor under oath, demanding he answer for what he knew and when he knew regarding the Bridgegate scandal,” he said.

Christie’s office on Tuesday night emailed reporters a chart of cost and statewide internet statistics in support the bill, but otherwise provided no other comment.

If the bill advances through the Senate and Assembly committees, it’s expected to have floor votes next week that could turn contentious.

“Even if towns meet requirements to post legal ads, it’s not quite the same as having them published in newspapers. I think this is a proposal whose time has not yet come. My vote is no,’’ Ciattarelli said.

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, says he supports the measure but added, “I’m still wrestling with it. It’s not an easy yes for me.’’

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin, R-Monmouth, said, “I won’t support the bill. I have yet to be convinced that the supposed savings for the towns would trump the benefits of transparency. The people’s right to know outweighs every other consideration. Transparency should be at the very top of our agenda.’’

O’Scanlon and Handlin intend to compete in a Republican primary for an open state Senate seat in 2017.

MORE: $300 million Extreme Makeover coming for Trenton Statehouse

“If the real issue is financial, newspaper representatives and officials should get together to discuss lower rates,’’ Handlin added. Newspaper industry officials said the rates are set by statute and haven’t been increased since 1983.

State Sen. Sam Thompson, R-Middlesex and Monmouth, is a member of the Senate committee that will consider the bill Thursday.

“I’m inclined to support it. Online legal ads are not inappropriate. Cost-savings are the main driver for me. The number of people who read these things (legal ads) I suspect is extremely small,’’ Thompson said.

“I buy six newspapers a day, hard copies, and I love it. I’m fearful that newspapers will go out of business,” said former governor and state Sen. Richard J. Codey, D-Essex. “Any democracy is better off with overseers like newspapers. Without them, you don’t truly know what’s going on in your communities or state.”

“This is one that I think is good for the taxpayers of New Jersey,” echoed Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, D-Secaucus, who is sponsoring the Assembly version of the bill. “These monies could go to lower the tax levy and directly to property tax relief.”

Michael Darcy, executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, said that his organization supported the legislation because digital is the “default” mode of communication these days, and because the bill allows municipalities to continue to publish legal notices in print newspapers if they so choose.

“We’re not here to try to determine who the winners or losers are in the print industry,” he said. “We are here to try to get the local government work done as efficiently as possible.”

MORE: Guess who's paying for Chris Christie's personal lawyer?

But Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, and other legislators said the bill could potentially shut off people with limited Internet access to important public information and would strain print newspapers, including weekly publications, in an environment where they are already struggling to maintain staffing levels.

“It hastens the declining revenue picture, which will hasten the demise of having good investigative reporters and places for their work to be read,” Weinberg said. “I’m hearing from people who are reading newspapers, and they don’t like this whole thing.”

The hearings Thursday will take place in the Assembly Appropriations and Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation committees.

Asked about the apparent rush to move the bill through the Legislature, Prieto said it was just “the nature of the beast” of how business is conducted in the Statehouse.

“In Trenton, we either move lightning speed or we move slow as snails,” he said.

MORE: Chris Christie gets bipartisan gun bill he might like

Nicholas Pugliese writes for The Record and Bob Jordan writes for The Asbury Park Press