On the first day of the lame-duck session, NJ Working Families Party, League of Women Voters NJ and the American Civil Liberties Union NJ joined over 60 pro-democracy advocates from across the state to tell returning lawmakers to not fast track changes to the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA) law. The letter urges Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Senator Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen County) to pursue a thoughtful and deliberative process after the current 6-week legislative session.

In a state synonymous with political corruption, OPRA has been a bulwark against government corruption and political malfeasance at all levels of government. NJ WFP and partners are leading the fight for transparency to ensure the public’s rights to public records are preserved.  Signers of the letter included advocates for good government, criminal justice, racial and social justice, and journalists.

The letter:

Senate President Scutari and Senator Sarlo,

We, the undersigned, represent a broad coalition of advocates from across our state fighting to make New Jersey more affordable for working families and to strengthen our democracy.

We are writing to express extreme concern about your recent statements indicating your desire to fast-track changes to the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) in the lame-duck session.

OPRA is fundamental to maintaining an open and accountable government. It has served as a critical bulwark to hold our elected officials – from borough council members to county commissioners to the Governor – accountable to the public and safeguard taxpayer dollars. Concerned members of the public, journalists, advocates, and other stakeholders from across the state have used OPRA to track government spending, examine the wisdom of decisions affecting thousands of families, and bring accountability to our criminal justice system.

In just the last few years, public records obtained through OPRA have led to reforms in millions of state dollars spent on behalf of the Schools Development Authority, helped uncover the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on state-run veterans’ homes, and highlighted the impact of toxic chemicals polluting communities across the state.

We have not been privy to the OPRA legislation drafts. Alarmingly, we have heard indications that the legislative changes will likely target reducing OPRA requests by significantly gutting the essential fee-shifting provisions, preventing requesters from first going to Superior Court to enforce their rights under OPRA, eliminating instances of OPRA appeals, increasing OPRA exemptions, and more. These changes would embolden officials at every level of government to act with impunity. Together, they seem designed to shield powerful special interests with lucrative government contracts from scrutiny rather than benefit New Jersey taxpayers and voters.

No OPRA bill hastily passed in the upcoming lame-duck session will deliver positive results for New Jersey voters. Any changes in this session are ill-considered and threaten to make all levels of New Jersey government significantly less transparent. Instead of pursuing legislative efforts that buy into an anti-democratic agenda, now is the time to lay out a vision for our state in which accountability and transparency are hallmarks of our governance.

We are calling on you to stop efforts to push through an OPRA bill in this lame-duck session. We urge you to actively engage with advocates on this issue and pursue a thoughtful and deliberative process next year — one that is open to public input and takes the necessary time to deliver a win for New Jerseyans.

Signed,

Antoinette Miles, NJ Working Families Party
Sarah Fajardo, American Civil Liberties Union NJ
Jesse Burns, League of Women Voters NJ

co-signatories in alphabetical order by organization

Jeffrey Chang AAPI Montclair/New Jersey	Ronsha Dickerson Camden Parents Union
Diomedes Tsitouras AAUP-BHSNJ	Melva Conquest Camden We Choose
Donna M Chiera AFTNJ	Michelle Feldman Center For Policing Equity
Pat Garofalo American Economic Liberties Project	Ellen Whitt Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War
Bonnie Kerness American Friends Service Committee Prison Watch	Roxanne Sutocky Cherry Hill Women’s Center
Sai Bhargavi Akiri Asha For Education	Amy Goldsmith Clean Water Action
John Migueis Berkeley Heights Community Watch	Fran Ehret Communications Workers of America NJ
Marcia Marley BlueWaveNJ	Byheijja Sabree Community Empowerment Group of NJ
Doug O’Malley Environment New Jersey	Erik Cruz Morales New Jersey Alliance For Immigrant Justice
Alex Starapoli Fair Share Housing Center	Renee Steinhagen New Jersey Appleseed Public Interest Law Center
Terrell Blount Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates Network	Maura Collinsgru New Jersey Citizen Action
Caitlin Vogus Freedom Of The Press Foundation	Walter Luers New Jersey Foundation For Open Government
Daniel Ulloa Heady NJ	Nuzhat Chowdhury New Jersey Institute For Social Justice
Jessica Hunsdon Highland Park Residents For Community Development	Awinna Martinez New Jersey Policy Perspective
Laura Zurfluh Indivisible Cranbury	Zayid Muhammad Newark Communities For Accountable Policing
Olivia Barnes Innocence Project	Mara Novak NJ 11th for Change
Maria Lopez-Nunez Ironbound Community Corporation	Gavin Rozzi OPRAmachine
Cory Garriga Jersey City Young Democrats	Matt Dragon Our Revolution NJ
CJ Griffin Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center	Maggie-Leigh O’Neill Partners For Women And Justice
Cuqui Rivera Latino Action Network	Catherine Hunt People Demanding Astion
Nedia Morsy Make The Road New Jersey	Mindy Goldstein Piscataway Progressive Democrats
Mark Hrywna RahwayRising.com	Arnie Korotkin The Gadfly
Cara Marcano Reporte Hispano	Simon Galperin The Jersey Bee
Benjamin Shore Rise Against Hate	Nick Sodano The Mount Holly Reporter
Racquel Romans-Henry Salvation And Social Justice	Krystal Knapp The New Jersey Media Transparency Working Group
Becky Morrison SOMA Action	Maati Sekmet-Ra Trenton Anti-Violence Coalition
Simonetta Jean Sussex County Progressives	Rev. Charles Loflin Unitarian Universalist Faith Action NJ
Rosalie Wong SWEEP New Jersey	Mary Barr Mann VillageGreenNJ.com
Barbara Rybolt Tapinto	AyindeMerrill Watu Moja
Harry Pozycki The Citizens Campaign	Adam McGovern Wind Of The Spirit Immigrant Resource Center
Bill Bowman The Franklin Reporter & Advocate