New Jersey groups worry Open Public Records Act reform bill will limit access to information
TRENTON, N.J. -- New Jersey advocacy groups worry a bill to reform the Open Public Records Act will limit access to information and is being fast-tracked through the state legislature.
The controversial bill was pulled out of a statehouse committee Thursday to give the groups more time to review it, said Sen. Nicholas Scutari, the bill's co-sponsor.
Members of the press have used the state's Open Public Records Act, better known as OPRA, to obtain government documents.
CBS New York used OPRA to investigate hundreds of New Jersey police officers who must be retrained after attending a conference that glorified violence in Atlantic City in 2021.
The American Civil Liberties Union said it has concerns about the OPRA reform bill.
"It's going to make access to government communications harder," said ACLU Policy Director Sarah Fajardo.
Scutari, a Democrat, said the bill will not allow the government to keep secrets.
"Couldn't be further from the truth. Those documents are still going to be available. In large part, it will be available on the internet, on websites. Just it's going to take away all the hours that it takes for municipalities to package the information up," he said.
Scutari added the bill exempts members of the press.
The ACLU disagrees.
"The bill as written, that we've seen, will limit access to information for the public, including members of the press," said Fajardo.
Scutari said it's about saving taxpayer money.
"Lawyers are taking these cases to see if they can get municipalities to deny a request, then they bring suit and then they get their attorneys fees for wrongful denial," he said.
Defense attorney and former Morris County prosecutor Robert Bianchi agrees with Scutari. He said there are predatory lawyer practices, but responsible attorneys should have unlimited access to OPRA information.
"As a defense lawyer, it is an invaluable tool for me to get information that unfortunately otherwise we would ask prosecutors for in the discovery process. Either they would not respond to us or say we're not entitled to it," said Bianchi.
Sen. Declan O'Scanlon said he and other Republicans want to work with Democrats to create a better OPRA reform bill.
"If you go back and you see during numerous scandals in the state of New Jersey, they would not have been uncovered if the provisions of this bill were in place," said O'Scanlon.
Democrats said the bill will be brought back to committee in the coming weeks.
