OPRA Suit In Newark Shows Need For Public Records Law In NJ: Advocates

NEWARK, NJ — New Jersey’s public records law is helping to shine light on the taxpayer cost of a school construction project in Newark, a report says.

A court order to unveil a settlement agreement between the Newark Board of Education and real estate developer Hanini Group is expected to reveal new details about the reconstruction of the State Street School building, which was no longer used and sold to Hanini in 2019 with plans to redevelop it, TAP into Newark reported Wednesday.

TAP into Newark filed several requests under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA) seeking information about the agreement and development plans. The district responded with a “heavily redacted” version, prompting a lawsuit in June 2023.

“Settlement agreements are undeniably public records,” a public records attorney representing the news outlet said after a judge’s order was issued on Tuesday. Read the full article here.

New Jersey’s OPRA law guarantees the public’s right to certain government records, and creates an appeal process for denials. Learn more about the law here.

Some critics of the current OPRA process argue that it needs to be revamped, with multiple New Jersey towns citing expensive labor bills related to the requests.

After launching a legislative effort to rewrite the state’s OPRA law last year, Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (NJ-17) said the bills will prevent the waste of taxpayer funds and safeguard the privacy of personal information.

“I’ve knocked on tens of thousands of doors over the last 25 years – never once did anyone have a concern with public records access,” the Democratic lawmaker said. “That’s not in the top 100 of their concerns, but what is in their concerns is the tens of millions of dollars that are being wasted on abuse of the system.”

The package of bills faced significant backlash when it emerged in June, NJ Advance Media reported.

• See Related: NJ Town Withheld Councilman's Public Records, Lawsuit Says

Meanwhile, the Jersey Vindicator reported in December that Sen. Paul Sarlo, the powerful Senate budget committee chairman, was working on a new set of OPRA reforms for the lame duck session in Trenton.

Free speech advocates have been pushing back against the proposed reforms, claiming that they will gut the existing OPRA law and make it significantly harder for the public to know what their elected representatives are doing in their names.

“In a state synonymous with political corruption, OPRA has been a bulwark against government corruption and political malfeasance at all levels of government,” a coalition of dozens of advocacy groups wrote in November.

Officials in some municipalities, such as Jersey City – which receives the most OPRA requests of any municipality in the state – have said that such requests are chances to build trust in government – not a “waste of staff resources.”

When Danielsen unveiled his proposed changes last year, John Paff, a well-known OPRA activist who runs the Transparency NJ website – said the bills were “essentially an eclipse on sunshine.”

Paff was among those cheering the judge’s ruling on the dispute between the Newark Board of Education and TAP into Newark.

“Newark tried the best they could, but they were rejected by the court soundly and I think that’s good news for open government,” Paff commented.

The court decision in Newark is only one recent example of the state’s OPRA law contributing to the publication of a news article. Catch up with some recent Patch stories that have used the law to source information below (click headline to read).

NJ Temp Workers Say Tragic Car Crash Shows Urgent Need For Change

For Clara Estrella, the American Dream ended on the Palisades Interstate Parkway in New Jersey.

The Danger Zone: This New Jersey Road Is A Crash Magnet, Records Show

It runs just about half of a mile. So why are there so many car crashes on this single stretch of roadway?

NJ Restaurant Continues Fight With Township Over Restrictions

Green Knoll Grill's liquor license was renewed for 2023 with conditions limiting hours of music. The restaurant is fighting this in court.

NJ Town Has Spent $14K On Legal Battle With Bagel Shop Owner

This town has spent nearly 7,000 bagels-worth of taxpayer money fighting Jarrett Seltzer in court so far. Here's how it breaks down.

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