Establishes advertising set-asides for eligible local news organizations.*
What changed between versions
A new subsection b. defines 'Advertising' as 'the discretionary use of media to promote products, programs, or services, regardless of the medium employed.' This clarifies what spending counts toward the 30 percent set-aside requirement and makes it medium-neutral.
Section 3(a)(2) changed 'advertising revenue' to 'advertising budget.' Previously, agencies that demonstrated a need to spend less than 30 percent of their advertising revenue in-State were subject to a 50 percent requirement on that in-State spend. Now the trigger is based on advertising budget rather than revenue, which likely broadens the set of agencies affected since most state agencies do not generate advertising revenue.
In the eligible local news organization definition, paragraph (5) cross-reference was corrected from 'subsection c. or d.' to 'paragraph (3) or (4)' and 'section' to 'subsection,' fixing an internal reference error that could have created ambiguity about which requirements apply to hybrid print-and-digital organizations.
The STATEMENT section (a summary of the bill's provisions included in introduced versions) was removed, which is standard when a bill is reprinted after committee action.
Senators Turner and Timberlake were added as co-sponsors, indicating broader legislative support for the bill.
