It is critical that your Assembly Representatives and Senator hear from you today. Please let them know you support and welcome open and transparent government, but do not support commercial entities using OPRA for financial gain at the expense of taxpayers or your residents losing their privacy because they applied for a license or signed up for a municipal program or spending taxpayer dollars on a cottage industry created only because of OPRA.
Legislation that would modernize the Open Public Records Act (A-4045/S-2930) does not hinder a resident or news reporter from using OPRA to get access to public records, but it will protect citizens personal information from disclosure. It addresses the burdensome commercial requests that transformed OPRA into a commercial tool it was never intended to become. It will give Judges and the Government Records Council the discretion to award prevailing attorney fees, opposed to an automatic granting. It will reaffirm the original intent of OPRA to provide copies of records in the municipalities’ possession and not create records or do research for records requests.
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 OPRA has impacted your municipality.
It is anticipated that the legislation will be further amended before it is considered for final action. 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.