GRC rejects Kearny’s 2-page limit on electronic delivery of OPRA responses

(UPDATE 2/2/2017):  The GRC has rejected Kearny’s page limit for electronic responses and says that the delivery method of the response is the requestor’s choice. If records can be emailed to you (for free) at your request, they must be!

(April 7, 2016)
A Denial of Access complaint has been filed with the Government Records Council (GRC) against the Town of Kearny (Hudson County) challenging the town’s policy of providing records via fax or email only if the response consists of no more than two pages. It is easy to see how limiting emailed and faxed (free) responses in this manner, and thus requiring people to incur potentially significant fees, could easily deter people from submitting requests for records they would otherwise have sought for review. Kearny’s practice runs counter to the spirit of OPRA, which was intended to allow for public oversight.

 

Article here:

 

Kearny’s 2-page limit on faxed and e-mailed record responses challenged in OPRA action
NJ Open Government Notes
by John Paff
April 7, 2016