NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Access to public records in New Jersey could soon change after both chambers of the legislature voted to approve a controversial bill Monday.
With few votes to spare, the bill passed in both the Senate and Assembly, despite hours of testimony from journalists, activists and concerned citizens who said this would dramatically limit oversight and transparency by giving governments numerous avenues to deny records requests and disincentivize people from suing to gain access by shifting the cost burden onto requesters.
Republican Assemblyman Brian Bergen said he was disgusted by those voting yes.
“You are part of the problem. You are the exact person that people don’t trust. You are the exact person that protects the interests of government and simultaneously stomps on the people,” he said.
Bill sponsor Democrat Joe Danielson says the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) system is outdated and being abused by commercial requesters.
“We now have cases that demonstrate agencies not being able to charge a reasonable fee to produce documents, which generate exorbitant costs,” Danielson said.
Bergen says this legislation does nothing to limit commercial requests but it does greatly limit a citizen’s ability to get information.
Danielson says the statute was “poorly written” 22 years ago and its “problems are only getting worse.”
“I believe we can fix those problems while improving the public’s access to government documents,” he said.
The bill now heads to Gov. Phil Murphy to sign into law or veto. A spokesperson said there’s no comment on his plans with the pending legislation.
Also included in the bill was $10 million to implement the various changes.