New JerseyS2930220th Legislature (2024-2025)Senate

Makes various changes to process for access to government records; appropriates $10 million.*

Sponsored By: Anthony M. Bucco (Republican), Joe Danielsen (Democratic), Victoria A. Flynn (Republican), Paul A. Sarlo (Democratic)

Signed by Governor

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

15 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 11 mixed.

Commercial requesters face fees and fines

Requesters must identify commercial uses, including sale, resale, solicitation, rental, leasing, or expected profit. Specified news, educational, scientific, scholarly, government, political, and labor organizations are excluded. Nonprofits qualify only without fee-based transfers to unaffiliated third parties; qualifying collective-bargaining contractors must seek information material to enforcing State or federal law. Commercial requesters can seek seven-business-day delivery instead of the usual 14, with an expedited fee capped at twice production cost. Intentionally failing to certify commercial purpose brings civil fines of $1,000 for a first offense, $2,500 for a second, and $5,000 for each later offense.

Agencies face fines for unlawful denials

Courts or the Government Records Council can fine an agency for a knowing and willful violation with an unreasonable denial. The fine is $1,000 for an initial violation. A second violation within 10 years brings $2,500, and a third within 10 years brings $5,000. These penalties support access enforcement; they are not payments to requesters.

Election records get stronger disclosure rules

Election agencies generally cannot redact specified voter-registration, party-affiliation, mail-ballot, campaign-finance, candidate, recall, and public-question records. Voter signatures and Social Security, driver license, and non-driver identification numbers generally remain protected. Candidate, recall, and public-question petitions must include voter signatures. Other statutory and Secretary of State exceptions still apply, and agencies need only provide records they hold under law or regulation. Specified noncommercial election-record requests must be fulfilled within two business days; authorized production fees remain allowed.

Funding and deadlines for records oversight

The Government Records Council operates within the Department of Community Affairs, with mediation, complaint review, guidance, and training duties. Council complaints have no filing fee. Beginning 18 months after the law's effective date, complaints must be decided within 90 days of filing. A 45-day extension is allowed for good cause, and mediation time does not count. The law appropriates $10 million: $4 million for local electronic-access grants, $4 million for the Council, and $2 million for Council implementation.

Small agencies must offer inspection hours

Small public entities must provide set hours for inspecting records. This covers towns with 5,000 or fewer residents and school districts with 500 or fewer students. It also covers public authorities with under $10 million in assets. Access must span at least six regular business hours over at least three business days each week, or the entity's regular hours, whichever is less.

Personal details and home addresses protected

Custodians must remove Social Security, credit card, personal phone, and driver license numbers before releasing records, subject to statutory exceptions. Protected addresses of specified public-safety and judicial personnel and their immediate families must also be removed. Agencies must begin approved home-address protection within 30 days and end it within 30 days after an approved revocation. A family member who moves out must request revocation within 30 days. Address-protection applicants must acknowledge in writing that redaction can affect receipt of land-use, election, nomination, and property-encumbrance notices.

Records appeals have deadlines and remedies

A requester accurately identified by name has 45 days to challenge a denial in Superior Court or the Government Records Council. Agencies must post appeal instructions online and on request forms, including the Council's website and toll-free number. New access-limiting regulations generally cannot block pending requests unless an agency demonstrates an urgent need. Improper denials require access; reasonable attorney fees are possible and mandatory for unreasonable denials, bad faith, or knowing and willful violations. Production within seven business days after service requires dismissal without prejudice, but fees remain possible when the custodian knew or should have known the denial was unlawful.

Records fees include limits and waivers

Printed copies cost 5 cents per letter-size page or smaller and 7 cents per legal-size page or larger. Electronic and non-printed records are free except for actual supply costs, and website referrals carry no fee. Other charges authorized by law or regulation still apply. Unusual copying, extraordinary work, or eligible format conversion can bring an added charge based on actual direct costs. Agencies must explain and itemize that charge before it is incurred; requesters may object but must show it is unreasonable. Crime victims get free copies of records they are legally entitled to access.

Court cases limit some records requests

Parties in legal cases cannot use records requests to obtain records covered by court orders or pending discovery requests. Requesters must state whether their request relates to a legal case and identify that case. Qualifying labor organizations and collective-bargaining contractors retain access to information needed to enforce specified laws or regulations. That exception does not cover requests connected to or supporting court discovery.

Disruptive requesters face court ordered limits

Before denying a substantially disruptive request, an agency must explain the problem and try to reach a reasonable solution. Agencies may also ask Superior Court to limit future requests or end their duty to respond to a requester. They must file a verified complaint showing legal compliance and good-faith efforts to resolve the problem informally. Clear and convincing evidence must show an intent to substantially interrupt government work; requesters get notice and a chance to answer. Qualifying labor and collective-bargaining contractor enforcement requests are excluded when they do not support court discovery.

More online records with retrieval rules

Agencies must post records online when feasible and provide a search bar on their website home page. They must provide a requested format they maintain, or convert to an available format without major computer work or vendor services. Otherwise, they must provide the electronic format they maintain. For complete online records, agencies may send a website link; no reply within seven business days generally completes the request. Requesters who cannot find the record after a good-faith effort must ask for help within seven business days. Agencies must reasonably help within seven business days; if the search still fails, a requested paper copy is due within seven business days at no more than twice its production cost.

More sensitive records stay confidential

The law keeps specified personal, health, criminal-investigation, victim, firearms, legislative, employment, security, and trade-secret records confidential. Protections also cover privileged legal materials, specified bid estimates, harassment complaints, insurance communications, veterans' discharge documents, and certain higher-education records. Crime victims retain access to their own records; veterans and their spouses or surviving spouses retain access to discharge records. Specified research projects must still disclose names, titles, spending, funding sources and amounts, and the final-summary release date. Public Defender case files remain closed unless access is authorized by law, court order, or the State Public Defender. Disclosure of covered nonconsensual intimate images is prohibited, and a violation is a disorderly persons offense.

New steps for requesting public records

The Government Records Council must provide one request form online and in print, including for incarcerated people. A complete letter or email also works, and anonymous requests are allowed. Anonymous requesters cannot challenge denials under this law, and each request must go to one agency. Agencies may deny duplicate requests sent to multiple custodians while a similar request is pending. An agency with only remote access or a courtesy copy may instead identify the holding agency within seven business days; judicial-branch records are excepted.

Records deadlines include delays and exceptions

Agencies generally must grant or deny access within seven business days; commercial requests and reviews under P.L.2021, c.371 get 14. Fire districts with no more than one full-time custodian get seven extra business days. Reasonable extensions require notice within seven business days; declared emergencies suspend deadlines, but agencies must still make reasonable response efforts. Archived records require notice within the applicable seven- or 14-business-day period and access within 21 business days afterward, or access counts as denied. Listed records, including budgets, contracts, salaries, and overtime, lose guaranteed immediate access once more than 24 months old. Requesters have 14 business days to retrieve records after notice that they are ready.

Tighter limits on broad records requests

Requests for certain messages or posts must identify a job title or account, a subject, and a reasonable time period. Agencies need not research existing records and create new records presenting the results. They may also deny an identical request from the same person when the information has not changed. Periodic requests for regularly updated records remain allowed, including certified payrolls, permits, and licensing applications.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Cosponsors

Atkins, Reginald W.
Affiliation unavailable

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 63 • No: 38

House vote • 5/13/2024

3RDG FINAL PASSAGE

Yes: 42 • No: 28 • Other: 1

Senate vote • 5/13/2024