THE TEXT OF THIS LETTER WAS SENT TO YOUR MUNICIPAL ATTORNEY

Dear Municipal Attorney:

With the new Open Public Records Act (OPRA) taking effect on July 8, League General Counsel, William Kearns and I thought it would be useful to provide you with information resources to help you assist your clients in complying with the law. Municipal officials will face new challenges implementing its provisions and you have an important role advising them on the issues they will face.

The new Government Records Council has launched a web site with a great deal of information, including a Records Custodian's Handbook, A Citizen's Guide to OPRA, a set of frequently asked questions, and other information resources. Their web site is found at www.nj.gov/grc. Ways to contact the Council through it's toll-free help-line at (866) 850-0511 and e-mail can also be found there.

The Division of Local Government Services has issued a Local Finance Notice that extensively reviews the law. The Notice was made available to all municipal clerks and is available from the Division's web site at http://www.state.nj.us/dca/lgs/lfns/02lfns/au-2002-7.pdf, or under the OPRA link at the Division's home page, www.state.nj.us/dca/lgs.

Finally, the League has a web site of information prepared by our legal team at: http://www.cityconnections.com/njleag/accpub.html. Of particular value will be the "Access To Public Records: A Primer on the New Public Records Law" handbook, which includes a set of Frequently Asked Questions targeted to municipal issues.

If you require anything further, please call me at (609) 695-3481, extension 22.