The Bayonne City Council may vote on a resolution calling for the “swift passage” of a controversial Open Public Records Act (OPRA) bill that some have said would be highly detrimental to the current public records laws in New Jersey.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
According to a copy of their agenda for tonight’s caucus meeting, resolution CR-14 calls for “Supporting the MODERNAZATION [sic] OF THE OPEN PUBLIC RECORDS ACT (OPRA) and the swift passage of S-2930/A-4045.”
” … When commercial entities are constantly emailing OPRA requests looking for the latest lists of dogs licensed that month, in-ground pool permits issued, solar roof permits issued, etc., it causes our residents to not want to license their dogs, comply with permits, or interact with the municipality because they don’t want to lose their privacy and/or have their information tracked and monetized for commercial purposes,” the resolution says.
” … Reforms to modernize OPRA are long overdue, among them: the need to address requests by commercial entities that utilize public records and the services of local government employees to generate profits, mandatory prevailing attorney fees, which created a cottage industry, and to add language so that such fees are based on facts and circumstances and not an automatic granting.”
The resolution continues that the bills introduced by state Senator Paul Sarlo (D-36) and Assemblyman Joe Danielson (D-17) provides “common sense reforms” to protect personal information, address overly broad commercial requests, and discretion when awarding attorneys’ fees.
The Bayonne City Council sets their agenda at their caucus meeting, which convenes tonight at 6 p.m., so it is possible this measure does not make the final agenda, which will be voted on next Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Nevertheless, those pushing to preserve OPRA are not happy with the wording of the local legislation.
“Sad that they’re leaning into gutting OPRA, but I also know that Bayonne is not a beacon of transparency and OPRA compliance. They should stop the charade that this bill is about commercial requests—it does nothing to address that alleged problem,” CJ Griffin, an attorney who focuses on government transparency, told HCV.
Council President Gary La Pelusa did not immediately return a call seeking late this afternoon.
The legislature is expected to hear an amended version of the bill tomorrow, but the changes, which include using a real name and address as well as denying requests to habitual requesters, but many remain unimpressed.
“Even after an outpouring of public opposition to S2930 — a bill that will undermine the public’s ability to hold government officials accountable based on the language that has been reported and shared thus far — New Jersey legislators and legislative leadership are continuing to fast-track their attempts to decimate the Open Public Records Act,” American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey Policy Director Sarah Fajardo told New Jersey Monitor.
“The ACLU-NJ believes that New Jersey must strengthen and expand access to public records, not restrict it.”