Activist seeks to force Passaic County to disclose cost of civil rights settlement

Settlement agreements entered into by governmental agencies are public documents.  That is well-established.  (See our Knowledge Corner HERE.)  This OPRA case is interesting in that it concerns disclosure of the terms of the settlement before its final drafting and adoption by the governing body. – NJFOG December 2, 2015 (updated 12/3/15) By Richard Cowen staff writer | The Record Read More …

Oceanport police punt records destruction investigation to school lawyer

Prosecutor’s office declines to pursue charges against a records custodian, despite a certified statement by a subsequent custodian that the prior custodian destroyed public records without authorization. -NJFOG Nov. 25, 2015 by John Paff NJ Open Government Notes (John’s blog entry is re-posted below.) On February 17, 2015, I asked Detective Gregory A. Lauretta, Jr. Read More …

Does An OPRA Request Constitute Harassment?

PRESS RELEASE For immediate release November 24, 2015 Does An OPRA Request Constitute Harassment? On Friday, October 30, 2015, the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government (“NJFOG”) attended a hearing in Kaplan v. Kratovil at New Brunswick Family Court.  The hearing was to determine whether the Court would enter a Final Restraining Order (“FRO”) against Read More …

Media companies begin appeal of N.J. public records ruling

UPDATE (9/10/2016):  See bottom of post. — The pivotal question of whether or not a public agency can respond to a request for records by neither confirming nor denying that they exist is before the NJ Appellate Division. -NJFOG NorthJersey.com Nov. 17, 2015 By SALVADOR RIZZO State House Bureau | The Record (Full article here and Read More …

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: S167 and S1840

Two public records bills – S167 and S1840 – saw activity in Trenton on 11/16/2015. NJFOG testified. Find links to our testimony at https://njfog.org/legislation/. The bills, which were combined under S167, require certain gov’t records to be posted online and permit a custodian to direct a requestor there.  A copy of the bill(s) themselves can Read More …