May 8, 2024

Time to Act on OPRA Modernization is Now 

On Thursday, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee is scheduled to amend and act on bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senators Paul Sarlo and Anthony Bucco (S-2930) to reform and modernize the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). 

On Friday, the Assembly Appropriations Committee is scheduled to similarly amend and act on A-4045, the Assembly companion sponsored by Assemblyman Joseph Danielsen and Assemblywoman Victoria Flynn.  

It is critical that your Assembly Representatives and Senator hear from you today. Please let them know you support and welcome open transparent government, but do not support commercial entities exploiting OPRA for financial gain at the expense of taxpayers, your residents losing their privacy because they applied for a license/signed up for a municipal program, or spending taxpayer dollars on a cottage industry created only because of OPRA.?? 

A-4045/S-2930  does not hinder a resident or journalist from using OPRA to get access to public records. It modernizes the law to account for the technology and business practices that have emerged in the past 22 years. It will give judges and the Government Records Council the discretion to award prevailing attorney fees, instead of granting it automatically. It will reaffirm the original intent of OPRA to provide copies of records in the municipality’s possession and not create records or perform research.?? 

Now is the time to reach out to your?Assembly?representatives  and Senator urging them to vote yes on these?commonsense reforms?and providing them?with?examples of how?the abuse of?OPRA has?impacted?your municipality.? 

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.