If you have not done so already, please reach out to Governor Murphy expressing your support for the vitally important modernization of the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) and encouraging him to sign the bipartisan legislation (S-2930).
Please let the Governor know you support and welcome open transparent government, but do not support spending taxpayer dollars on a cottage industry created only because of OPRA, commercial entities exploiting OPRA for financial gain at the expense of taxpayers, or your residents losing their privacy because they applied for a license/signed up for a municipal program.
The bill:
- Modernizes OPRA to account for the technology and business practices that have emerged in the past 22 years.
- Gives judges and the Government Records Council the discretion to award prevailing attorney’s fees instead of granting it automatically.
- Reaffirms the original intent of OPRA to provide copies of records in the municipality’s possession and not create records or perform research.
What S-2930 does not do is hinder a resident or journalist from using OPRA to get access to public records.
Under this bill, if a resident submits an OPRA request for the emergency notification the municipality sent using Nixle regarding the pending snowstorm, the resident will receive a copy. Under this bill, if a news reporter submits an OPRA request for a copy of a professional service contract, the reporter will receive a copy of the contract.
In addition, the legislation implements many of the privacy recommendations from the 2004 Privacy Study Commission.
Now is the time to reach out to Governor Murphy encouraging him to sign the bipartisan legislation (S-2930) that modernizes OPRA.
The League will continue to provide you with updates on these developments.
Contacts: Mike Cerra, Executive Director, mcerra@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x120 and Lori Buckelew, Deputy Executive Director & Director of Government Affairs, lbuckelew@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x112.