Legal notices published in the Vineyard Gazette now appear on a statewide legal notice website as well as on vineyardgazette.com, in compliance with a state law that took effect in January.

The statewide site (masspublicnotices.org) was created by the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, to enable citizens to easily search thousands of legal and public notices that are published in newspapers across the commonwealth. Gazette publisher Jane Seagrave is a secretary of the MNPA.

Legal notices, often called public notices, provide information about foreclosures, public hearings and other meetings, financial reports, requests for bids on infrastructure projects and other information about government, business and judicial activities that are legally required to be published. Like many newspapers, the Gazette has posted these notices online as well as in print for years.

The new law, filed by Rep. Jeffrey N. Roy, D-Franklin, and supported by the publishers’ group, requires newspapers in Massachusetts to begin forwarding these notices to the statewide site for publication at no additional charge. The site is operated and maintained by the MNPA at no cost to taxpayers.

“Legal notices are an essential means by which citizens are kept informed about the actions of their state and local governments and courts,” said Robert J. Ambrogi, MNPA executive director. “The newspapers of Massachusetts are committed to ensuring the broadest-possible access to these notices, both in print and online.”

The law took effect on Jan. 20.