HB 2047

PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 2622  PRINTER'S NO.    2874
              THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
                  HOUSE BILL
                  No. 2047
                                          Session of
                                            2025
INTRODUCED BY RABB, SANCHEZ, WAXMAN, KHAN, RIVERA, FREEMAN,
   K.HARRIS, SMITH-WADE-EL AND WARREN, NOVEMBER 18, 2025
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY,
   HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, FEBRUARY 4, 2026
                                AN ACT
1 Establishing the Local News Fellowship Program; imposing duties
2    on an administering institution; and providing for
3    administration of the Local News Fellowship Program.
4    The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1.   Short title.
7    This act shall be known and may be cited as the Local News
8 Fellowship Program Act.
9 Section 2.   Definitions.
10    The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
11 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
12 context clearly indicates otherwise:
13    "Administering institution."    An institution designated by
14 the Governor within the State System of Higher Education that is
15 reasonably qualified to administer the program or the State
16 Library of Pennsylvania.
17    "Civic information needs."    The information resources,
18 including local journalism and communication infrastructure,
1 needed by a community for civic engagement and participation.
2    "Community-based newsroom."     A nonprofit or independent media
3 organization that meets all of the following criteria:
4(1)   Maintains its principal place of business within
5    this Commonwealth.
6(2)   Primarily serves a local or regional audience.
7(3)   Produces original reporting that advances civic
8    engagement, public accountability or community-informed
9    journalism.
10    "Fellow."     An early-career journalist who is selected to
11 participate in the program under section 4(a).
12    "Host newsroom."     A community-based newsroom that applies for
13 and receives approval from the administering institution to host
14 a fellow under the program.
15    "Program."     The Local News Fellowship Program established
16 under section 3(a).
17 Section 3.     Establishment of program.
18    (a)   Establishment.--The Local News Fellowship Program is
19 established within the administering institution to expand
20 access to high-quality local journalism, support the development
21 of early-career and mid-career journalists and strengthen the
22 capacity of community-based newsrooms throughout this
23 Commonwealth SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF MONEY APPROPRIATED        <--
24 FOR THIS PURPOSE. Within 90 days of the effective date of this
25 subsection, the Governor shall designate the administering
26 institution and transmit notice of the designation to the
27 Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the next
28 available issue of the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
29    (b)   Program components.--The TO THE EXTENT MONEY IS  <--
30 AVAILABLE, THE program shall include the following core
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1 components:
2(1)   The administering institution shall assign fellows
3    to host newsrooms in accordance with the selection process
4    under section 4.
5(2)   Fellows shall receive fair compensation, mentorship
6    and access to training opportunities to enhance their
7    journalistic skills and community engagement.
8(3)   Priority shall be given to placements that serve
9    communities with significant civic information needs,
10    including rural areas, communities of color and immigrant
11    populations.
12(4)   The program shall encourage fellows to build lasting
13    ties to the host newsroom and the community served.
14 Section 4.     Selection and placement of fellows.
15    (a)   Selection of fellows.--The administering institution
16 shall establish a competitive selection process for fellows,
17 which may include criteria such as academic or professional
18 background, demonstrated commitment to public-interest
19 journalism and alignment with the goals of the program.
20    (b)   Approval of host newsrooms.--The administering
21 institution shall develop and post criteria for the designation
22 of host newsrooms on the administering institution's publicly
23 accessible Internet website. The criteria shall include all of
24 the following:
25(1)   The newsroom's capacity to provide editorial
26    oversight, mentorship and professional development.
27(2)   The newsroom's alignment with the goals of the
28    program.
29(3)   The demonstrated civic information needs of the
30    community served.
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1    (c)   Placement guidelines.--In making fellowship placements,
2 the administering institution shall seek geographic and
3 demographic diversity and shall prioritize underserved
4 communities with limited access to original local news and civic
5 information needs.
6 Section 5.     Administration of program.
7    (a)   Administration.--The administering institution shall
8 administer the program ONLY TO THE EXTENT MONEY IS AVAILABLE and <--
9 may partner or contract with a nonprofit organization that has
10 experience in journalism education, civic media or public-
11 interest reporting to implement all or part of the program.
12    (b)   Duties.--The administering institution or a nonprofit
13 organization engaged under subsection (a) shall have the
14 following duties:
15(1)   Manage outreach and application processes for
16    fellows and host newsrooms.
17(2)   Coordinate fellow placement and provide or
18    facilitate training, mentorship and cohort-building
19    activities.
20(3)   Monitor the performance of fellows and host
21    newsrooms throughout the duration of the fellowship.
22    (c)   Reporting requirements.--
23(1)   The administering institution shall prepare an
24    annual report evaluating the implementation and outcomes of
25    the program. The report shall include all of the following
26    information:
27(i)    The number of fellows placed and the names and
28locations of approved host newsrooms.
29(ii)   A summary of training, mentorship and community
30engagement activities.
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1(iii)    An assessment of the program's impact on
2access to civic information needs in participating
3communities.
4(iv)    Fellow retention and post-fellowship employment
5outcomes in this Commonwealth.
6(v)    Demographic representation of the applicant
7pool, selected fellows and host newsrooms, reported in
8aggregate form.
9(vi)    A description of methods used to measure the
10program's impact on civic information needs and the
11results of those measures.
12(vii)    A summary of public feedback received under
13paragraph (3) and the administering institution's
14response, including any program changes adopted.
15(viii)    Any recommendations for improvement or
16expansion of the program.
17(2)   The administering institution shall submit the
18    annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly and
19    post the report on its publicly accessible Internet website.
20(3)   The administering institution shall maintain a
21    publicly accessible mechanism to receive comments from
22    fellows, host newsrooms and members of the public regarding
23    the program and shall solicit comments not less than annually
24    for inclusion in the report under paragraph (1).
25 Section 6.     Editorial independence.
26    (a)   Noninterference.--Each fellow and host newsroom shall
27 retain sole editorial control over content, assignments and
28 publication decisions. Neither the administering institution,
29 the Commonwealth nor any officer or employee thereof may direct,
30 control or otherwise influence the editorial decision making of
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1 fellows or host newsrooms.
2    (b)   Viewpoint neutrality.--Program funds or participation
3 may not be conditioned on the viewpoint, content or subject of
4 reporting.
5    (c)   Administrative decisions.--Nothing in this section shall
6 be construed to limit administrative decisions on eligibility,
7 placement or funding that are made under neutral program
8 criteria.
9 SECTION 7.   ADMINISTRATION.  <--
10    THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY MAY APPROPRIATE FUNDING AS IT DEEMS
11 NECESSARY TO EFFECTUATE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT.
12 Section 7 8.   Effective date.  <--
13    This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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