Legislative efforts are underway in New Jersey to amend the state’s Open Public Records Act to bring the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey under its purview. The legislation (S-2292 and A-3400) follows the Appellate Division’s decision in Dittrich v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,
In many cases, records requested under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act are not physically located onsite. For instance, the records may be maintained at another agency or third party, with whom the public entity has a contractual agreement. However, as highlighted by the New Jersey Government Records Council in
In an interesting legal twist, the Borough of Pine Hill is seeking to shift liability for the release of confidential information to the individual who requested it under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act. The municipality has filed a motion to add the requester, John Schmidt, as a third-party defendant.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is exempt from the requirements of the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, according to a New Jersey appeals court. The court reasoned that because the Port Authority is an instrumentality of the two states, it is not considered an “agency”
Local municipalities may be issuing more marriage licenses if legislation seeking to modernize New Jersey’s marriage license requirements ultimately becomes law. S-2106 would eliminate the state’s 72-hour waiting requirement and relax residency requirements. Under the measure, there would be no waiting period between submitting an application and receiving a marriage
A recent decision by the Appellate Division reminds New Jersey public bodies that they cannot broadly cite attorney-client privilege to avoid providing documents in response to a request made under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). In Hyman v. City of Jersey City, the court chastised the municipality for its
The New Jersey Open Records Act (OPRA) continues to pose challenges for municipalities. In a recent decision, Superior Court Judge Yolanda Ciccone ruled that data does not need to be readable to qualify as a public record. The Facts of the Case The New Jersey OPRA lawsuit was filed
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently clarified that the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA) does have its limits. The Court addressed whether certain records related to the Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic’s representation of its clients should be fair game under OPRA. The lawsuit, Sussex Commons Associates v. Rutgers, arose
