Senate Bill S9558

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to modernizing and increasing the transparency of local government notice procedures

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Local Government Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 25, 2026	referred to local government

2025-S9558 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10387
Current Committee:: Senate Local Government
Law Section:: General Municipal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §300, Gen Muni L

2025-S9558 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes municipalities to post legal notices on their official municipal websites in lieu of publishing such notices in a newspaper.

2025-S9558 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9558

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to modernizing
and increasing the transparency of local government notice procedures

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Increase the effectiveness of notifying the public regarding government
actions.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the Act sets forth the bill's short title: "local govern-
ment notice modernization and transparency act"

Section 2 of the Act amends section 300 of the general municipal law to
allow local governments to post official legal notices on their official
municipal website instead of publishing such notices in a newspaper as
required by any other state statute or local law.

Section 3: Sets for the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Since its peak in 1973, newspaper circulation has steadily declined to a
2022 projection of daily weekday circulation that is only one-third of
the peak circulation. That massive decline in newspaper circulation has
accelerated during the last decade, resulting in 2,200 U.S. print news-
papers closing between 2005 and 2021. Many of the newspapers that
haven't closed have nevertheless reduced circulation and services.

As a result, many communities that were previously served by a newspaper
no longer have a newspaper that distributes a daily or even a weekly
newspaper. Moreover, for many communities that still have a newspaper
that provides some circulation within the municipality, the newspapers
are proving extremely unreliable in processing public notice advertising
applications, making it extremely difficult for local governments to
conduct business.

Moreover, because of the declining readership, the effectiveness of
publishing notices in newspapers has also become ineffective.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S9558 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9558
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 25, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAY  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
 
 AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in  relation  to  modernizing
   and increasing the transparency of local government notice procedures
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Short title.  This act may be cited as the  "local  govern-
 ment notice modernization and transparency act".
   §  2.  Section 300 of the general municipal law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
   3. A. A MUNICIPALITY MAY AUTHORIZE THE POSTING OF LEGAL NOTICES ON ITS
 OFFICIAL MUNICIPAL WEBSITE IN LIEU OF PUBLISHING SUCH NOTICES IN A NEWS-
 PAPER WHEN SUCH PUBLICATION IS OTHERWISE REQUIRED BY STATE OR LOCAL LAW.
 TO AUTHORIZE WEBSITE POSTING OF OFFICIAL NOTICES,  A  MUNICIPALITY  MUST
 ENACT A LOCAL LAW AUTHORIZING WEBSITE NOTIFICATION.
   B.  ONCE  THE  LOCAL LAW IS ENACTED AUTHORIZING ONLINE NOTIFICATION OF
 OFFICIAL LOCAL NOTICES IN LIEU OF PUBLISHING LEGAL NOTICES IN A  NEWSPA-
 PER,  THE  MUNICIPALITY  MUST PHYSICALLY POST AND MAINTAIN ON AN ONGOING
 BASIS AT LEAST THREE NOTICES THROUGHOUT THE MUNICIPALITY  INFORMING  THE
 PUBLIC  THAT  LEGAL NOTICES FROM THE MUNICIPALITY WILL ONLY BE POSTED ON
 THE MUNICIPALITY'S OFFICIAL WEBSITE.  IN  ADDITION,  THE  MUNICIPALITY'S
 OFFICIAL  WEBSITE  MUST  PERMANENTLY  PROMINENTLY  DISPLAY THE FOLLOWING
 STATEMENT: "ALL LEGAL NOTICES REQUIRED BY STATE AND LOCAL  LAW  WILL  BE
 POSTED  ON THIS WEBSITE IN LIEU OF BEING PUBLISHED IN A NEWSPAPER.  SUCH
 NOTICES WILL BE POSTED FOR THE DURATION REQUIRED BY THE APPLICABLE STATE
 OR LOCAL LAW."
   C. NOTICES MUST BE CONTINUOUSLY PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED ON  THE  MUNICI-
 PALITY'S  OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR THE NUMBER OF DAYS THE STATE OR LOCAL LAW
 REQUIRES.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14943-01-6

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Senate Bill S9558

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Local Government Committee

Actions

2025-S9558 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S9558 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S9558 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S9558 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Rachel May

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Local Government Committee

Actions

2025-S9558 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S9558 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S9558 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S9558 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments