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No More Muting the Public: New NJ Law Would Force Boards to Let Every Resident Speak

Village _council_meeting_theridgewoodblog

Your Voice Matters: New NJ Bill Could End the “Time’s Up” at Town Hall

file photo courtesy of Boyd Loving

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

TRENTON, N.J. — Have you ever waited hours at a school board or town council meeting, only to be told the “public comment portion has ended” before you could get to the microphone?

A bold new piece of legislation introduced for the 2026 session aims to make that frustration a thing of the past. Assembly Bill No. 2953, sponsored by Assemblyman Erik Peterson (R-23), would fundamentally change how local government bodies interact with the people they serve.

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