The New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 ''et seq.'' (P.L. 2001, c. 404), commonly abbreviated OPRA, is a
statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...
that provides a right to the public to access certain
public records
Public records are documents or pieces of information that are not considered confidential and generally pertain to the conduct of government.
For example, in California, when a couple fills out a marriage license application, they have the optio ...
in the State of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, as well as the process by which that right may be exercised. In general, OPRA provides that "government records shall be readily accessible for inspection, copying, or examination by the citizens of this State, with certain exceptions, for the protection of the public interest." OPRA may be viewed as New Jersey's equivalent to the United States federal
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request:
* Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act
* ...
.
Law
OPRA has multiple features to it:
# A request for
public information
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
must be completed, signed, and given to the keeper of the
record that is requested. For requests to the State of New Jersey, OPRA requests for most information can be submitted online. A few other public agencies in New Jersey have online OPRA portals.
# Public contracts are considered “immediate access” records
# A request will not be considered as under the OPRA if:
#* The request for a record is sent to the wrong person. However, that person who receives the request must either redirect the request to the appropriate person or advise the requestor regarding who is the appropriate person.
#* The request does not state that it is being made pursuant to OPRA.
#* The request is not made in writing.
# Fees for requesting information must be paid, unless you are exempt from paying the fee or the fee is unlawful.
# Convicted criminals in New Jersey or anywhere else in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
will not have access to public records if the records requested relate to the victim.
# A request for information must be responded to within 7 business days after the request is received.
# A request can be denied if the request would disrupt current operations of an
agency
Agency may refer to:
Organizations
* Institution, governmental or others
** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients
** Employment agency, a business that ...
and if the record keeper cannot reach a solution with the person requesting the documents.
# A
record keeper must tell the person requesting information why the record cannot be released.
# Failure of a record keeper to respond to a request within 7
business day
A business day means any day except any Saturday, any Sunday, or any day which is a legal holiday or any day on which banking institutions are authorized or required by law or other governmental action to close.
The definition of a business day ...
s is considered a denial of the request.
# If a request is denied, the person requesting the information can appeal the denial to the
Government Records Council (GRC) of the Department of Community Affairs, or to
New Jersey Superior Court
The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts.Jeffrey S. Mandel, New Jersey Appellate Pra ...
. While there is no deadline to submit a complaint to the GRC, a complaint submitted to Superior Court must be filed within 45 days (calendar days, not business days) after the denial of access.
# Information provided on a request form can be disclosed under the Open Public Records Act.
Controversies
During the eight years of the
Chris Christie administration, his office spent more than $1 million challenging OPRA requests, including court fees for illegally withholding information.
Although the Government Records Council is charged with settling OPRA release disputes, the underfunded and understaffed agency has a backlog of requests dating to 2014. In late March 2018, an estimated 10% remained outstanding, including some assigned to other government entities, but 347 flagged as GRC “work in progress”. One woman's official open records complaint took more than two years to resolve. What was supposed to be a more efficient means of challenging denied requests is characterized as an even more onerous system; one open records advocate described the situation as "justice delayed… justice denied".
In January 2018, outgoing Governor Chri
Christie pre-emptively restricted the State Archives' release of his administration's public records particularly electronic records. This came to light a few months later, in May 2018, when access to records between the Christie administration and the
Kushner Companies
Kushner Companies LLC is an American real estate developer in the New York City metropolitan area. The company's biggest presence is in the New Jersey residential market.
A study published in December 2017 by ''Bloomberg News'' indicated that ...
, previously run by the president's son-in-law,
Jared Kushner
Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He served as a senior advisor to 45th U.S. president Donald Trump, his father-in-law. Since leaving the White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a pri ...
, was blocked by Christie's lawyer.
Concerned open records advocates challenged Christie's action as contrary to the purpose of OPRA, which designates the State Archives as neutral public arbiter of records.
See also
*
Freedom of Information Act (United States)
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), , is the U.S. federal freedom of information law that requires the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased or uncirculated information and documents controlled by the United States government, s ...
, approximately equivalent federal legislation
*
Freedom of information in the United States
Freedom of information in the United States results from freedom of information legislation at the federal level and in the fifty states.
Federal level
The federal government is bound by several laws intended to promote openness in government. ...
References
{{reflist
External links
OPRA requests
New Jersey law
Freedom of information in the United States