California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed the Community NEWS Act, a bill that offers news organizations refundable tax credits for hiring and retaining journalists.
The law, backed by the SAG-AFTRA union and carried as AB 2222 gives qualified newsrooms a $20,000 credit for each of the first five full-time journalists hired and $15,000 for each additional full-time hire. It also provides $7,500 for part-time journalists and a stackable $15,000 credit for new hires.
“Governor Newsom’s signing of the Community NEWS Act is a huge win for the quality journalism needed to build a healthy, informed society,” SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin said. He credited Newsom, Ward and the bill’s allies in the Legislature with making “the policy changes necessary to ensure continued access to the news and information that keeps our democracy thriving.”
Supporters say the credits could slow the loss of local coverage by making it more affordable for outlets of all sizes to employ reporters. According to the 2026 Local Journalist Index, local journalist employment has fallen more than 80% since 2002. Vermont, Illinois, New York and New Mexico have already adopted incentives for local news.
The signing comes more than a year after Congress passed the Rescissions Act of 2025, which eliminated $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Those cuts, long a source of grants for local PBS and NPR affiliates, have led to staffing reductions and programming changes at stations across the country.