Appellate Division Strikes Down Government Records Council's Regulation During Pending Denial-of-Access Complaint
"In its ruling today, the Appellate Division has shown us that the judicial branch continues to uphold government transparency, even if the legislative and executive branches do not," said John Paff, executive director of Libertarians for Transparent Government.
August 12, 2024 at 06:09 PM
4 minute read
In a published decision Monday, the New Jersey Appellate Division invalidated a provision adopted by the Government Records Council that said submissions made in denial-of-access complaints are not subject to the Open Public Records Act.
In 2022, the GRC adopted a provision that said that all submissions made to the council during the adjudication of a denial-of-access complaint under OPRA, "shall not be considered government records subject to public access pursuant to" OPRA "during the pendency of the adjudication," according to the opinion.
The opinion, written by Judge Francis J. Vernoia, in In re Adoption of N.J.A.C. 5:105-1.6(a)(1), held that the regulation is invalid because it violates OPRA's plainly stated requirements, finds no support in OPRA, and is inconsistent with the legislative mandate embodied in OPRA that the citizens of New Jersey are entitled to prompt and full public access to government records.
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