New Jersey Foundation for Open Government
Shining a light on local government
The governing body in Byram Township (Sussex Co.) discussed the OPMA and OPRA reform legislation (S106 and S107) at its June 19, 2018 meeting and reached out to NJFOG for our input. We invite other local governments to do the same to become better informed. NJFOG welcomes the opportunity to discuss the bill provisions, in Read More …
In a move that runs counter to the public interest, some local governing bodies are adopting a resolution opposing legislation that would modernize and strengthen the state’s Open Public Meetings and Open Public Records Acts. Review the facts with our model resolution. Read More …
Does data once publicly available become non-public with the move to privatization? A new lawsuit asks that salient question. The particular issue in this case is the privatization of public water resources, a move that many of the state’s local governments have made or are now considering. A request by public advocacy organization Food and Read More …
UPDATE (6/15/2018): Bill A4532 / S3049 in the 2016-2017 legislative session was re-introduced as A2542 / S1232 in the 2018-2019 session. Bill S1232 passed out of Senate committee on 6/14/2018. UPDATE (5/2/2017): On 5/1/17, Bill A4532 was received in the Senate and referred to the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee. UPDATE Read More …
A Mercer County lawsuit filed by MapLight, a California-based watchdog group, challenges the propriety of leaving to a private citizen and his private law firm the discretion to grant or deny access to public records. The private citizen in this case is the state’s former governor, and the records being sought are email communications relating Read More …