Bills would chip away at N.J. public's right to know

There is an on-going battle being waged between record keepers and record seekers. The Star-Ledger and citizens often go to court to force reluctant agencies to turn over records they are required to release under the Open Public Records Act [OPRA].

Meanwhile, OPRA constantly is under attack by legislators who apparently don’t want the public to see what government is doing.

Two Assembly bills are the latest attempts to weaken OPRA. One would set per-page copying costs for OPRA records at 10 cents per letter-size page and 15 cents per legal-size page...

But here’s the kicker: An agency could charge those fees for documents delivered electronically.

Read more here.

ASNE Names Winners of Local Heroes Contest

Suzanne Harris of Miramar Beach, Florida won the American Society of News Editors' Local Heroes contest. The contest honors individuals who fought tirelessly last year to make their state or local institutions more open and accessible.

When Walton County commissioners did not respond to Harris' e-mail requests for public documents, she sued. As part of the settlement, the commissioners placed the county under court scrutiny to comply with the state's Public Records Act, agreed to hold training annually for public officials and key staff, to use only official county e-mail accounts in its transactions, and to designate an employee as records management liaison officer.

Veronica Silkes of Landing, New Jersey, took second-place for founding Concerned Active Residents of Mount Arlington, a group of citizens concerned about tax increases ad expenditures in Mount Arlington. The group gathers public documents and shares information about borough affairs on its website.

Phil and Ellen Winter of Waynesboro, Virginia took third place. The pair gathered more than 100 pages of government documents after becoming concerned when they noticed the city failed to deposit their property tax check promptly. The documents showed the city treasurer allegedly had mishandled about $400,000 in city and state taxpayer money. Their tip to the local newspaper resulted in the treasurer's defeat in the fall election.

For more about the winners, click here.

New Jersey Toll-Takers Dole Out Insults with Change, Records Show

TheSmokingGun.com used the Freedom of Information Law to obtain more than 550 letters to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, complaining of mistreatment by toll collectors along the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike.

The site reports the following complaints:

One commuter claimed that a toll collector called him a "f---ing moron" for dropping a dime. Another said a toll-taker spit on his fingers before counting out the driver's change. A toll-taker even offered to flash a female driver to help her stay awake, the documents show.

The head of the toll collectors union insists that toll-takers are more often on the receiving end of abuse from drivers, though.

For more, click here.

New Jersey Supreme Court Makes City' Confidential Settlement Public

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that an out-of-court settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit is a public document. The Asbury Park Press and John Paff of the Open Government Advocacy Project made a request under the state's Open Public Records Act for the settlement document of a lawsuit brought against Monmouth County officials. The Board of Freeholders refused, citing a confidentiality agreement among all parties. The Court rejected those grounds.

Read more here.

NJ School Board Members Need to Take it Outside

An attorney advising the Pequannock, NJ school board opined that using a cell phone or PDA to communicate during meetings could violate the state's Open Public Meetings Act, saying such messaging is "probably a violation of the spirit and intent" of the law. The attorney has asked school board members to step outside the board room to use their cell phones or PDAs if they need to use them during meetings.

Get the full story here.

High Copying Costs Thwart Open Public Records Act Goals

The New Jersey Foundation for Open Government says outmoded copying fees are exorbitant in light of technological advances that make copying easier, faster, and cheaper than in years past, and that such fees present a real deterrent to the open government goals espoused in the Open Public Records Act.

The current fees are at least 75 cents per page for the first 10 pages, 50 cents per page for the next 10 pages, and 25 cents per page for additional pages. While litigants can petition for a fee reduction on a case-by-case basis, open government advocates urge the NJ Legislature to lower the fees by statute.

For more information, click here.

New Jersey Use-of-Force Reports are Public Records

A New Jersey appeals court panel held that police use-of-force reports are public records, upholding a 2008 Superior Court ruling that West Milford must turn over the reports to Martin O'Shea, an open-records activist.  

The town sought exemption for the records under New Jersey's Public Records Act as "criminal investigatory records," but that argument was rejected.  

More here. 

Great column on New Jersey FOI reform effort

A nice look at New Jersey sunshine reforms by Ron Miskoff, president of the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government, here:

The latest, if not the last, episode of corruption in New Jersey's political class has politicians of all stripes scurrying for ways to demonstrate that they are not part of a problem.

They have statements on this, committees on that and postures on the other thing. But it's difficult to put much faith in reforms that start only when television lights go on.

There's a common link between black-market livers and cash sandwiches, between back-channel approvals and parking-lot deals. They all happen in the dark. A culture of corruption takes hold behind closed doors, during private meetings in back rooms.

Well before the current hubbub, state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) introduced legislation to update the state's Open Public Meetings Act, the Sunshine Law.

Some N.J. clerks 'playing keep-away' with public records.

The Government Records Council in New Jersey has ruled on 1,503 denial-of-access complaints since 2002, and many of the rulings favor those complaining, The Star-Ledger reported. In some cases, rulings are finally granting citizens access to records they requested two years ago, records that should have been released within a week of the request. "Most of the time, they just want to keep people from getting the records in time for the next meeting or the next election," says attorney Walter Luers, who has won OPRA lawsuits against several municipalities." The people on the inside don't want the people on the outside to get the information." Not only is OPRA flawed in how clerks are handing requests, but the GRC panel is also missing two members, which has caused it to cancel meetings and thereby increase its backlog.

There are 47 items on the agenda, and in a small meeting room in Trenton, on a Tuesday morning, the Government Records Council is slogging its way through the list of complaints from citizens who have been thwarted in their attempts to access public records.

An hour into the session, it's clear: New Jersey's Open Public Records Act is flawed.

Ruling after ruling by executive director Catherine Starghill goes against agencies that have denied -- wrongfully -- public access to their records. In the GRC's final orders, municipal clerks, board secretaries and other record custodians are found to be guilty of wide-ranging and unnecessary OPRA violations.

More here.

N.J. guidelines clarify what court documents are public

In September, a new rule adopted by New Jersey's highest court will define evidence admitted in courts as "open for public inspection," the Star-Ledger reported. Private records will include financial information in divorce proceedings and personal identifiers such as credit card and Social Security numbers. Thomas Cafferty, a lawyer for the New Jersey Press Association said, "It was less than clear before what would be accessible to the public. I think the Albin report makes it clear."

For decades, some residents could not get court documents they were entitled to see because the judiciary had limited guidelines on which records were available for public viewing.

That's expected to change next month when a new rule recently adopted by the state's highest court goes into effect.

Evidence admitted in New Jersey courts are just some of the records specifically defined as "open for public inspection" in the state's new guidelines.

More here.

N.J. to limit disclosure of child death details

State reports on child-death cases will no longer include details of the Division of Youth and Family Services' prior actions,the Star-Ledger reported. State officials say the federal monitor who oversees child welfare reform provides enough oversight; reports will now simply include trends rather than the histories of the deceased children who were involved with a state program. Officials say the decision was made "out of respect for surviving family members;" however, it was the release of details in the 2003 death case of 7-year-old Faheem Williams that led to DYFS reform. State law does require the department to disclose the name, birthday, date of death and whether the families of fatal child abuse victims were under DYFS supervision. However, the Child Advocate reports provided more details than required, details that often led to policy changes.

Leaders at the agencies most responsible for New Jersey's child-protection agency say the state no longer will publicly disclose the details of DYFS prior actions when a child it has supervised dies from abuse or neglect.

The decision signals a change in policy after the state issued annual reports detailing what happened in each child-death case for the past six years. Instead, the state will issue reports focusing on trends it has found.

State officials say reporting individual cases is not a useful way to assess how the child-welfare system is working and publicizing details could hurt victims' families. They say with a federal monitor overseeing child welfare reform, there is enough oversight.

More here.

N.J. Government Records Council loses open records suit

The New Jersey Foundation for Open Government won its case against the New Jersey Government Records Council. The council, designed to help enforce open records laws, violated the law itself by refusing to release the e-mail addresses of those who had filed complaints with the council. The foundation had requested acknowledgment notices sent to each person who filed a complaint; the council had released the records but redacted the e-mail addresses on the grounds of privacy.

The New Jersey Foundation for Open Government (NJFOG) announced today that it
has won a lawsuit against the New Jersey Government Records Council (GRC) for violating the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), the very statute the GRC was created to enforce.

NJFOG had requested from the GRC complaint acknowledgement notices that the GRC emails to complainants. In response, the GRC had withheld the individual complainants’ email addresses. On July 17, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Douglas H. Hurd, J.S.C. “ordered that the defendant GRC grants Plaintiff NJFOG access in unredacted form to the requested GRC acknowledgement
notices. GRC shall comply with this Order by August 14, 2009.”

More here.

A Sign of the Future: FOI Requests Go Social Nets...

A new Web site has been launched to root out some of the lesser known documentation of Salem County government.

Launched by the Salem County Watchdog Association, the site provides archived and current documents secured through open public records requests.

The brainchild of Shirlee Manahan, www.salemcountywatchdog.org is a cyber-library providing information such as who among employees has a county-issued cell phone or vehicle, along with news of the day and budgetary information.

"This is a non-partisan, non-political Web site. I made a simple inquiry for public records in 2006 and was told no," said Manahan, a Pennsville resident. "The Web site was designed to save citizens the time, delay and cost of making individual requests for documents."

Manahan believed strongly that her denial was a violation of the Open Public Records Act and took her case to the Government Records Council.

More here.

Exec Privilege Argument Rejected in New Jersey Gov E-Mail Case

A judge on Friday ordered Gov. Jon S. Corzine to publicly release hundreds of e-mail messages he exchanged with a state union leader he once dated.

In his ruling, Judge Paul Innes of State Superior Court said the messages were public records.

The decision is a blow to Mr. Corzine, who wanted to keep private the e-mail messages he exchanged with Carla Katz, a former companion, during state worker contract talks in 2006 and 2007.

“The relationship created a clear potential for conflict,” Judge Innes wrote. “These types of communications would be the sort of communications the Supreme Court felt the public had the right of access to understand and evaluate the reasonableness of the public body’s actions.”

Tom Wilson, the New Jersey Republican Party chairman, sued to make the e-mail messages public, contending that the personal relationship could have affected negotiations.

Mr. Corzine, a Democrat, contends that the e-mail messages are private under privileges accorded governors.

More here.

New Jersey Bill Bans Confidential Settlements

Taxpayers shouldn't have to sue to find out how much they are paying to settle lawsuits - lawsuits that are sometimes settled for big bucks because government officials botched their jobs.

But that's exactly what's been happening in the case of confidential settlements involving public agencies. The Press twice has gone to court - and won - to overturn the confidentiality provisions of settlements involving public agencies. Courts ruled in such cases that the public has a right to know what it's paying in settlements. But without a law, taxpayers were forced to hire a lawyer to pry these settlements open.

That unfairness would end, if a bill sponsored by state Sen. Nia H. Gill, D-Essex, Bergen, becomes law. Gill's bill, which cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, would ban confidential settlements when a public agency is involved.

More here.

Want to COver Our Student Gov Meetings? Then we'll shut down the presses!

Hey everybody! It's that rarest of First Amendment no-nos, the prior restraint.

The Montclarion, Montclair State University's student-run newspaper, was prevented from publishing its first issue of the semester, due to a Jan. 22 budget freeze by its parent, the Student Government Association (SGA).

SGA bookkeeper Pamela Mitchell contacted the publishing company, Wall, N.J.-based RFM Printing, to inform them of the funding suspension and to instruct them not to publish the Jan. 24 issue of the paper, or any subsequent issues, until further notice. The production coordinator who spoke to Mitchell recited notes she had from the conversation.

"It was very matter of fact," said the employee. "[I was told] do not print an issue until further notice."

The freeze was initiated through an undated letter addressed to Montclarion Editor-in-Chief Karl de Vries on Tuesday, Jan. 22, the first day of spring semester classes. The reasons cited were related to a legal counsel agreement between The Montclarion and its former attorney on Jan. 19, 2007.

Attorney Sal M. Anderton, who represented The Montclarion for nearly a year, was fired by SGA President Ron Chicken in December . Anderton advised the newspaper in its pursuit against the SGA for what The Montclarion maintains is a closed session practice in violation of the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act.

The budget freeze letter, signed by Chicken and SGA Treasurer Melissa Revesz, claimed an improper legal service contract, a violational "expenditure of funds," and the denial of The Montclarion to submit the correspondences between the newspaper and the attorney.

The Montclarion's position is that the information is protected by attorney-client privilege. The paper will continue to refuse the request. Chicken requested the records verbally on Nov. 14, again on Dec. 5 and in a letter on Dec. 13.

Last year's SGA President and Treasurer approved the payment of Anderton's $5,000 retainer fee. The fee was drawn from the SGA's own budget, from a line previously designated and approved by the legislature as "Montclarion Legal Fees."

"Technically that's the contract," said Angelo Lilla, former SGA President, of the purchase requisite he signed approving the retainer fee. "It's a document with two signatures approving and showing proof that we understand and agree to the terms of payment."

Chicken established in December that The Montclarion would receive legal counsel and advice, if necessary, from SGA attorney Aaron Easley. The Montclarion must submit legal queries for Easley through Chicken and is not permitted to access him directly.

More here.

The old private e-mail account argument, again...

The Evesham, New Jersey, school district and the American Civil Liberties Union are fighting in court over records relating to a controversial video that shows gay families.

The ACLU's New Jersey chapter said Monday the district has refused to provide e-mail sent to and from school board members about the health-class film, "That's a Family!"

The documentary sparked an outcry from both critics and supporters after it was shown to a third-grade class in December. Board members pulled it from the district's curriculum in August.

The ACLU said the e-mail must be made available under the group's Aug. 30 request for all public records concerning the video dispute. The group said the district contends the e-mail messages are not public records because board members use private e-mail accounts.

More here.

A Loophole You Could Drive a Truck Through in Jersey

The Corzine administration does not have to make public a consultant’s study on a proposal to sell or lease toll roads, a Superior Court judge ruled Monday.

Judge Linda Feinberg declined to dismiss the case, as requested by the administration. But ultimately she ruled in Governor Corzine’s favor, agreeing that the report by London-based Steer Davies Gleave could remain private because it falls under the category of “inter-agency or intra-agency advisory, consultative, or deliberative material,” which are exempt from the state’s Open Public Records Act.

Feinberg’s written ruling stated her decision was based, in part, on the fact that “the Governor has not decided whether to propose proceeding with a monetization program or, if such a program is deemed desirable, how to structure the program.” Feinberg also wrote that “disclosure of the withheld materials could lead to confusion of the public.”

More here.