SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
[First Reprint]
SENATE, No. 2930
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: MAY 9, 2024
The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably
and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 2930 (1R).
As amended by the committee, this bill makes various changes to
the law governing access to government records, commonly known
as the open public records act, including the following:
modifies the conditions under which a records custodian has to
respond to a request for records, allowing the custodian discretion to
deny duplicative requests;
encourages and allocates funds to assist public agencies in moving
documents online, making these records searchable via an online
database, to the extent feasible;
creates a comprehensive definition of “personal identifying
information” which, in many cases, is redacted by the records
custodian;
establishes specific timelines for responses to records requests
occurring under various circumstances, such as when a record may
be unavailable or in storage, and adds additional specificity and
clarity to the items and information which are exempt from public
access;
transfers the responsibility for violations from the custodian to the
public agency, and allows, in limited circumstances, for the courts to
issue a protective order to shield the agency from harassment;
alters the composition of the Government Records Council,
adding more public members, establishing staggered five year terms
and annual salaries, and ensuring partisan balance;
adds labor organizations, contractor signatories, and nonprofit
organizations to the list of parties exempt from “commercial purpose”;
defines “labor organization”;
removes record request limitations and registration fees on data
brokers;
removes the following from exemption from public record requests:
notes, draft material, deliberative material, information related to
negotiating positions, logs of telephone calls, logs of texts, logs of
emails, and electronic or paper calendars for individuals; 2
specifies legal next of kin, legal representatives, attending
physicians, when permitted by a court, and courts may have access to
visual autopsy records;
specifies that releasing security footage is permitted as long as it
does not compromise the integrity of the security system;
prohibits indecent or graphic images of a person’s intimate parts
from release by a record request;
requires the custodian to provide a requestor with an itemized list of
charges and permit the requestor to challenge the charges;
determines charges are reasonable and places burden of proof upon
requestor to determine that charges are not reasonable;
allows public agency to charge certain fees or not complete a request
if the medium of the record requested is unavailable;
specifies that a request submitted anonymously will not be
considered incomplete;
requires the Government Records Council to create a uniform record
request form that will be adopted by all public agencies;
allows a commercial requestor to pay a special service fee to receive
a record in seven business days instead of 14 business days;
specifies that the court or Government Records Council may award
a reasonable attorney’s fee to any requestor who prevails in any
proceeding, but determines that a requestor will always receive a
reasonable attorney’s fee if the public agency has been determined to
have denied the record unreasonably, acted in bad faith, or knowingly
and willfully violated the open public records act;
requires the Superior Court and the Administrative Office of the
Courts to report certain data on actions brought before the court
regarding record requests;
removes the Police Record Access Improvement Task Force; and
appropriates an additional $2,000,000 for the Government Records
Council to effectuate the purposes of the bill.
Nothing in this bill is intended to modify Daniel’s Law restrictions
on the disclosure or re-disclosure of covered person’s home address,
including street address or other home address identifiers, or
unpublished home phone number information following a request for
removal.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS :
The committee amended the bill to:
add labor organizations, contractor signatories, and nonprofit
organizations to the list of parties exempt from “commercial purpose”;
define “labor organization;”
remove record request limitations and registration fees on data
brokers;
remove the following from exemption from public record requests:
notes, draft material, deliberative material, information related to 3
negotiating positions, logs of telephone calls, logs of texts, logs of
emails, and electronic or paper calendars for individuals;
specify legal next of kin, legal representatives, attending physicians,
when permitted by a court, and courts may have access to visual autopsy
records;
specify that releasing security footage is permitted as long as it does
not compromise the integrity of the security system;
prohibit indecent or graphic images of a person’s intimate parts from
release by a record request;
require the custodian to provide a requestor with an itemized list of
charges and permit the requestor to challenge the charges;
determine charges are reasonable and places burden of proof upon
requestor to determine that charges are not reasonable;
allow public agency to charge certain fees or not complete a request
if the medium of the record requested is unavailable;
specify that a request submitted anonymously will not be considered
incomplete;
require the Government Records Council to create a uniform record
request form that will be adopted by all public agencies;
allow a commercial requestor to pay a special service fee to receive
a record in seven business days instead of 14 business days;
specify that the court or Government Records Council may award a
reasonable attorney’s fee to any requestor who prevails in any
proceeding, but determines that a requestor will always receive a
reasonable attorney’s fee if the public agency has been determined to
have denied the record unreasonably, acted in bad faith, or knowingly
and willfully violated the open public records act law;
require the Superior Court and the Administrative Office of the
Courts to report certain data on actions brought before the court
regarding record requests;
remove Police Record Access Improvement Task Force; and
appropriate an additional $2,000,000 for the Government Records
Council to effectuate the purposes of the bill.
Nothing in this bill is intended to modify Daniel’s Law restrictions
on the disclosure or re-disclosure of covered person’s home address,
including street address or other home address identifiers, or
unpublished home phone number information following a request for
removal.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Fiscal information for this bill is currently unavailable.