Establishes Open Public Records Act Study Commission.

S3205

SENATE, No. 3205

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED JANUARY 28, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� KRISTIN M. CORRADO

District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes Open Public Records Act Study Commission.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
establishing
a study commission to evaluate the open public records act.�

���� Be It
Resolved
by the Senate and General
Assembly of the State of New Jersey
:

���� 1.��� The Legislature finds
and declares that:�

���� a.���� The State of New Jersey
believes in an open and transparent government;�

���� b.��� The open public records
act, commonly referred to as OPRA, was adopted in 2001 to provide citizens with
the ability to examine the records of their government;

���� c.���� Since 2001,
administrative decisions and court rulings have been made to interpret how OPRA
applies in day-to-day situations;

���� d.��� OPRA, at times, is
challenging for the public to understand and for the records custodians to follow,
such as when balancing the release of a document against a citizen�s right to
privacy;

���� e.���� OPRA has had a positive
impact, yet there are issues with harassment of records custodians and frequent
requests by commercial entities;

���� f.���� The public demands
efficient and cost effective access to government records;

���� g.��� The actual, day-to-day
effect of OPRA should be reviewed to ensure that the intent of OPRA is being
achieved and is as fair as possible to all interested parties; and

���� h.��� The establishment of a
study commission is appropriate to examine how OPRA is being implemented and
utilized.�

���� 2.��� There is established a
commission, to be known as the Open Public Records Act Study Commission, to
consist of 11 members.� The Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs
and the Executive Director of the Government Records Council, or their
designees, shall serve as ex-officio members.� The Senate President shall
appoint three members, no more than two of whom shall be a member of the same political
party, one of whom shall be a member of the news media, one of whom shall be a
municipal clerk, and one of whom shall be a member of the general public with
an interest in an open and transparent government.� The Speaker of the General
Assembly shall appoint three members, no more than two of whom shall be a
member of the same political party, one of whom shall be a Chief of Police, one
of whom shall be a mayor, and one of whom shall be a member of the general
public with experience as a privacy expert.� Three members shall be appointed
by the Governor, no more than two of whom shall be a member of the same
political party, one of who shall be a municipal manager, and two of whom shall
be attorneys licensed in the State of New Jersey with knowledge and experience
with the open public records act, one of whom shall have experience as an
attorney on the local government level and one of whom shall have experience as
an attorney on the State government level.�

���� A vacancy in the membership of
the commission shall be filled in the same manner in which the original
appointment was made.

���� 3.��� The members of the
commission shall be appointed and shall hold their initial organizational
meeting within 45 days after the effective date of this act.� The members shall
elect one of the members to serve as chair and one of the members to serve as
vice-chair.� The chair may appoint a secretary, who need not be a member of the
commission.� The members of the commission shall serve without compensation,
but shall be eligible for reimbursement for necessary and reasonable expenses
incurred in the performance of their official duties within the limits of funds
appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission.

���� 4.��� The commission shall
meet at the call of the chair.� The commission shall hold at least three public
hearings in different parts of the State and elicit testimony from the public
at such times and places as the chair shall designate.� A meeting of the commission
shall be called at the request of six of the commission's members and six
members of the commission shall constitute a quorum at any meeting thereof.

���� 5.��� It shall be the duty of
the commission to, at a minimum:

���� a.���� review OPRA and examine
how the statute compares with actual operation and use;

���� b.��� evaluate how
advancements in technology, administrative decisions, and court rulings have
impacted OPRA;

���� c.���� analyze how OPRA
requests are balanced with the public�s right to privacy;

���� d.��� examine how OPRA has
been used for commercial, marketing, business, and research purposes;�

���� e.���� research public records
statutes and their operation and use, both positive and negative, of other
states;

���� f.���� consider such other
matters relating to OPRA as the members of the commission may deem appropriate;
and

���� g.��� make recommendations for
legislation or such other action as it deems appropriate with regard to
improving, expanding, and facilitating OPRA.�

���� 6.��� The commission shall be
entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the
employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau,
commission or agency, as it may require and as may be available for its
purposes, and to employ stenographic and clerical assistance and incur
traveling and other miscellaneous expenses as may be necessary in order to
perform its duties, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made
available to the commission.

���� 7.��� The commission shall
report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature, pursuant to section
2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), and the Governor within one year of its
initial organizational meeting.

���� 8.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and shall expire 30 days after the commission submits its
findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature.

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes an 11
member commission, to be known as the Open Public Records Act Study Commission.�
The study commission will examine how the open public records act, OPRA, is
implemented and utilized in actual day-to-day situations.�

���� At a minimum, the commission will:

���� review OPRA and examine how
the statute compares with actual operation and use;

���� evaluate how advancements in
technology, administrative decisions, and court rulings have impacted OPRA;

���� analyze how OPRA requests are
balanced with the public�s right to privacy;

���� examine how OPRA has been used
for commercial, marketing, business, and research purposes;�

���� research public records
statutes and their operation and use, both positive and negative, of other
states;

���� consider such other matters
relating to OPRA as the members of the commission may deem appropriate; and

���� make recommendations for
legislation or such other action as it deems appropriate with regard to
improving, expanding, and facilitating OPRA.�

���� The commission will report its
findings and recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor within one
year of its initial organizational meeting.� The commission will expire 30 days
after submission of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature and the
Governor.

���� This bill is a recommendation
of the League of Municipalities 2018 Conference.