Gov. Murphy should veto changes to N.J. public records law | Editorial
The bill will make it so expensive and cumbersome for people to obtain public information that justice will be harder to find.
The ability to feel shame is a human trait too often undervalued when considering the qualities of people chosen to protect the public’s interest. That has become blatantly clear as voters try to make a choice for president, but it’s just as important when viewing the conduct of officials at all levels of government.
For example, where was the shame when the New Jersey Legislature last week approved a bill that will make it harder for people to obtain public records they need to prove their rights have been violated? The Legislature’s shameful changes to the state’s Open Public Records Act will make it so expensive and cumbersome to obtain “public” information that justice will be harder to find.
No longer will courts routinely award attorney fees to litigants who successfully prove they were wrongly denied public records. Instead, a separate finding must be made on whether an agency acted in bad faith or knowingly violated the law. That seemingly innocuous change means lawyers who might represent low-income litigants pro bono won’t do it in fear they may not get paid.
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The legislators also decided government offices would no longer be required to justify any extra fees they charge for complex records requests. Instead, all fees will be presumed reasonable unless the person requesting records can prove otherwise. That makes it too easy for officials to charge fees so high they discourage people from even asking for records.
The new rules also target public policy and other politically active groups by making them liable in lawsuits for making records requests that “substantially interrupt the performance” of a government agency.
“You can’t rightly claim that the public has the freedom to access public records while, at the same time, imposing a looming threat of retribution for people who dare to use that right,” April Nicklaus, deputy director of Voter Choice New Jersey, told the New Jersey Monitor.
Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D., Union) claims changing the current law will result in “a savings of taxpayer dollars.” Presumably, he is referring to the costs associated with ensuring government offices have the necessary personnel and technology to efficiently provide public records to taxpayers. In other words, he’s putting a price tag on justice.
That’s the same kind of thinking that has filled America’s prisons with people who, except for being unable to afford a good lawyer, might not be incarcerated.
If the legislators are worried about costs, instead of unduly limiting people’s ability to obtain information that belongs to them as taxpayers, the lawmakers might try managing current revenue to improve public information systems statewide.
It’s telling that some lawmakers changed their official votes after the open records legislation received more than enough to pass. Were they trying to avoid being blamed for the damage done?
Assemblyman David Bailey Jr. (D., Salem) and Assemblywoman Rosy Bagolie (D., Essex) initially voted yes, then no. State Sen. Vince Polistina (R., Atlantic) switched his no vote to “not voting.” Assemblywoman Barbara McCann Stamato (D., Hudson) and State Sen. John McKeon (D., Essex) initially did not vote, then changed their votes to no.
Assemblyman Brian Bergen (R., Morris), who opposed the bill, blamed the flip flops in the Assembly on Speaker Craig Coughlin (D., Middlesex). “The speaker knew he needed Republican votes to get it over, but he didn’t know how many he was going to get, so it was an ever-changing thing,” Bergen said.
Bartering for votes is the nature of politics, but that doesn’t make it any less shameful when the public is hurt as a result. No wonder polling indicates many Americans wouldn’t care if their preferred politician failed an integrity test. Apparently, they no longer believe integrity is necessary to hold public office.
Certainly, it was no surprise to many New Jerseyans that U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, who escaped a corruption conviction in 2017, is back in court facing unrelated bribery charges. That hasn’t stopped the Hudson County Democrat from saying he might run for reelection as an independent this fall.
His lack of shame is a reminder that a certain presidential candidate has a record of dubious behavior that includes his banking millions of dollars while bankrupting the Trump Plaza Casino Hotel, Trump Marina Hotel Casino, and Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City.
Making it more difficult to access public records in New Jersey strengthens the notion that government does not belong to the people; it belongs to whoever has bought or bartered the allegiance of more politicians. Gov. Phil Murphy can return some power to the people by vetoing this bad open records overhaul and asking state lawmakers to craft more legitimate reforms.