Despite acknowledging the move will likely disappoint members of the advocacy community who have voiced concerns about the erosion of transparency, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a controversial Senate bill Wednesday that overhauls the state’s Open Public Records Act.
Murphy signed the bill, S2930/A4045, into law Wednesday, which was accompanied by a five-page statement of his reasons for supporting its enactment. The bill modifies the conditions under which a records custodian must respond to requests for records and allows the custodian to deny duplicative requests. It also eliminates the fee-shifting provision, which obligated the government to pay the attorney fees of those who successfully appealed an OPRA denial.