OPRA and Transparency Bills Released from Committee

The Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee has released the following bills on government transparency, including the Open Public Records Act (OPRA):

S106 (Weinberg) makes various changes to law addressing meetings of public bodies to provide public with greater access to meetings and information about meetings. The bill clarifies and expands the public’s right to receive notice of meetings of public bodies, to be present at such meetings and, under certain circumstances, to be heard at meetings, as well as to have access to minutes of meetings.

“This bill will prevent the government from hiding things from the public. People should be able to see and know what’s going on in their government. Even if they can’t physically be at the meeting, the information should be available beforehand and afterwards to increase transparency and public participation. The government is supposed to represent and work for the people. A government agency that works behind closed doors is hardly representing the people,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

S107 (Weinberg) makes certain access changes to open public records act; establishes State public finance website and creates program for development of local websites; makes appropriation. In addition, the bill requires the State to create a public finance website and establish the New Jersey Local Public Finance Internet Website Development Program to provide advice and technical assistance to units of local government that elect to create a searchable local public finance Internet website. said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, released the following statement:

“Open government means open access to records. We support increasing transparency within government and the ability of citizens to use OPRA to access records. This bill opens the process for the public even more by allowing them to access files online. There are currently many exemptions to OPRA that shield public knowledge from public eyes and this bill will help to solve some of those problems. This bill is a step forward in opening up government and shedding the disinfectant sunshine on open public records that belong to the people.

“They’ve been holding up, slowing down, and even denying people’s rights to get the information they have the right to. For example, if the Sierra Club didn’t go to court to get the records on the private contract for Liberty State Park, we wouldn’t have known about the privatization. We went to court to strip the arrogance and abuse of power of the DEP to release their plan to privatize the park. OPRA is meant to safeguard the public’s right of access to government records and that’s why it’s important to make sure we’re doing it to the best of our ability.