Earlier today, Governor Murphy signed a bill that significantly alters New Jersey’s public records law, complicating public access to government-produced data, records, and documents. The legislation faced opposition from nearly all public testimony and 81 percent of the public in polling. Despite this, the new law will facilitate governments in denying records requests, imposing costs on requestors, and avoiding accountability for unlawful denials.
In response to the enactment of this law, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) issued a statement. Nicole Rodriguez, President of NJPP, said: “This law is bad policy, bad politics, and bad news for anyone who believes that government should work for the people and not for special interests. Public records are how we shine a spotlight on corruption and hold officials accountable when they’re not doing what’s best for their communities. New Jersey just took a big step forward with our first primary election without ‘the line’ on the ballot, and now the state is taking two even bigger steps backward. This is a dark day for transparency, accountability, and democracy in New Jersey.”
