Garden State Times

Governor Phil Murphy signed bipartisan legislation today, sponsored by Senate Republican Leader Anthony M. Bucco (R-25), aimed at increasing public access to government documents while protecting against the abuse of New Jersey’s government records system.

"Government transparency is the bedrock of our democratic society, and this bill underscores that fundamental principle," said Sen. Bucco. "This law will save taxpayers money and time by increasing public access to government documents online, speeding up the process to resolve cases with the GRC, and reduces the need for OPRA requests. Most importantly, we are protecting individuals from being unfairly exploited by bad-faith actors who've notoriously abused the OPRA system in the past for commercial purposes and the exploitation of women."

Senator Bucco sponsored the legislation, S-2930/A-4045, which includes several key provisions:

- Requiring government agencies to place more documents online for public view, thereby increasing public access.

- Accelerating the OPRA review process by mandating that The Government Records Council (GRC) decide an appeal within 90 days. Previously, cases could take up to 18 months to resolve.

- Restricting commercial use of OPRA to ensure public agency employees can focus on projects benefiting the public good.

- Stipulating that if a government agency blatantly violates the law or disregards a legitimate request, the GRC must award attorney fees. It also allows for awarding attorney fees in other appropriate cases.

- Prohibiting bad actors from obtaining images of young women in compromising positions and posting them online to extort payments from victims.

The bill appropriates $10 million to the Department of Community Affairs: $4 million will fund a grant program to help local governments make records available electronically, and $6 million will go to the GRC.

To speak with Sen. Bucco, please contact Chris Sivel, SRO Deputy Director of Communications at [email protected].