New Jersey

NJ state Senate passes bill that will dismantle public access to government records, data

Published

2 years ago

May 13, 2024

NJ state Senate passes bill that will dismantle public access to government records, data

3-minute read

Legislation that would gut public access to government records and data was passed by the state Senate on Monday. It was to be considered by the Assembly later Monday afternoon.

State Senate President Nick Scutari said after the Senate’s voting session that the legislation — billed as a reform of the New Jersey Open Public Records Act — was an effort to save taxpayers money.

While the bill was under discussion last week in the Senate budget committee, lawmakers said it was focused on limiting data brokering and commercial access. Provisions dealing with regulation of data brokers, however, were removed from the final version of the bill.

Scutari also said the Legislature — controlled by Democrats — has been exempt since the bill was introduced and that the legislation’s sponsors are listening to the concerns of small-town New Jersey mayors.

“This isn’t about us. This is what I heard on my first day as Senate president at the League of Municipalities when I wasn’t even sworn in yet,” he said.

There were 21 votes in favor and 10 votes against. Nine state senators did not vote, including Sens. Anthony Bucco, James Holzapfel and Shirley Turner, who were not present.

One lawmaker noted after the session that not voting is the equivalent of a no but shows respect to the effort of the sponsors.

State Sen. Andrew Zwicker voted against the bill in committee both in March and last week. He said after the voting session, “From everything I understand this will make it more difficult [to get records], and that is my concern.

“I think we made it better in the amendments, but it didn’t go far enough for me to vote for the bill,” Zwicker said.

Will government records ‘be readily available?’

The bill cleared committee in both chambers on Thursday and Friday after hours of testimony in opposition from advocates.

The proposed law initially cleared committee in the upper chamber in March but was pulled from consideration in an Assembly committee that same week just minutes before it was set to start.

There were no such delays this month, though, and while there were votes against the bill in each committee — three in the state Senate and one in the Assembly — it ultimately moved forward.

The most recent version of the bill removes the presumption of access clause at the beginning of the OPRA statute, which notes that “government records shall be readily accessible,” and the Senate Majority Office said that section “will remain intact as part of the OPRA law.”

“That section is not being removed from the OPRA law, just from the bill,” spokesperson Richard McGrath said. “It came out of the legislation because that section of the law is no longer being amended.”

While advocates from groups like the ACLU, New Jersey Working Families and New Jersey Citizen Action have been outspokenly opposed to the bill since it was first introduced in March, not everyone thinks it’s a bad bill.

Representatives from organizations including the League of Municipalities, New Jersey School Boards Association and New Jersey Association of Counties have been supported the legislation. Some spokesmen for those organizations — including the league’s executive director, Michael Cerra — said they would have liked the legislation to go even further to restrict public access to government records and data.

Since the bill was first heard in committee in March, Republicans in both chambers have joined as sponsors — state Sen. Anthony Bucco in the upper chamber and Assemblywoman Victoria Flynn in the lower chamber.

Our view: Amended OPRA bill an absolute sham. Gov. Murphy, veto this affront to democracy

What will the legislation do to gut OPRA?

The updated bill includes the renewed ability to make anonymous requests and the removal of exemptions for call and email logs and digital calendars.

It also implements stricter requirements on how to request things like texts and emails including specific accounts, times, topics and titles.

There are modifications to the provision limiting access to metadata to allow for access only to the “portion that identifies authorship, identity of editor, and time of change.”

Language restricting data brokers and commercial entities that resell information obtained through OPRA was removed.

The parts that remain mostly intact include one of the most controversial, known as the fee-shifting provision. This provision previously required public record custodians that had not, according to a judge, properly provided records to pay the requesters’ attorney fees.

The bill initially changed that to say winners of OPRA lawsuits “may” be entitled to legal fees if the public agency is found to have knowingly violated the law or unreasonably denied access. In its amended form, the bill still eliminates the attorney fee requirement but does allow for judges to decide that fees are warranted if the denial was unreasonable, if the agency “acted in bad faith, or knowingly and willfully violated” the law.

The amendments also include language that would allow for a court to “issue a protective order limiting the number and scope of requests the requester may make” if they “sought records with the intent to substantially interrupt the performance of government function.”

The legislation was first enacted in 2002 and requires local, county and state government entities to provide the public with access to government records in New Jersey.

Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com

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New Jersey

Here’s what Mahwah residents can expect during property reassessment

Published

6 hours ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

Here’s what Mahwah residents can expect during property reassessment

MAHWAH — What can residents expect during the township’s property revaluation and reassessment process?

They can expect to see inspectors measuring the exterior of the home and property, followed by a request to inspect the interior.

This and more information, along with a question-and-answer period, will be held at a public information session at the start of the next council meeting on March 23.

“Officials will provide an overview of the revaluation program, including inspection procedures, valuation methods, timelines and opportunities for questions,” said Township Business Administrator Ben Kezmarsky.

As directed by the Bergen County Board of Taxation and the New Jersey Division of Taxation, the township is reevaluating all taxable real estate for the 2027 tax year to ensure uniform and equitable assessments. The last time the township conducted the process was in 2011.

The assessment or revaluation findings will be used to determine the value of each property and, therefore, the taxes each owner will have to pay to the city and county in the future.

The average Mahwah property tax bill for 2024, the latest figure available from the state, was $9,961.

Appraisal Systems, Inc. will assist in conducting the reassessment. Representatives will be available at the meeting to explain the process and answer public questions.

In theory, once an assessment is conducted, all properties are at 100% of market value. But outcomes vary. Over the years, as real estate prices increase or decrease, the assessment is no longer at fair market value.

What’s the first step in the revaluation?

The first step is the inspection of all properties. In the coming months, inspectors from Appraisal Systems, Inc. will visit all properties, measuring and photographing the exteriors of all buildings and inspecting the interiors.

A representative will ask to examine the interior of all taxable properties. The first inspector visit will be between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. If owners are not present at the first visit, the inspector will focus on the exterior and leave a card with a return date. The notice will have a phone number to reschedule the appointment if necessary.

Contactless interior inspections using a video conference will be available at the request of the property owner, according to the municipal website.

Appraisal Systems, Inc., representatives will carry photo identification with their names registered with the police department and the clerk’s office. Do not allow anyone to enter without proper identification.

The inspector will ask owners to sign the field form to acknowledge when an interior inspection is made.

More information

Advance questions can also be emailed to Kezmarsky before the meeting at kezmarsky@mahwahtwp.org.

Residents and property owners can attend the meeting in person starting at 7 p.m. on March 23 at Township Hall, 475 Corporate Drive. The meeting can also be viewed remotely via connections on the township website, mahwahtwp.org. Video of the meeting will be posted for later viewing.

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New Jersey

Cargo ship that left Port of NY and NJ attacked in Persian Gulf

Published

18 hours ago

March 19, 2026

Press Room

Cargo ship that left Port of NY and NJ attacked in Persian Gulf

1-minute read

Shipping disruptions could be coming to the ports of New York and New Jersey amid the Iran war and attacks around the Strait of Hormuz.

One container ship that called on the Port of New York and New Jersey in January, One Majesty, sailing under the flag of Japan, was attacked in the Persian Gulf last week.

“Thankfully nobody on board was injured and that ship is now underway again,” said Bethann Rooney, port director for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “There was a relatively small — centimeters — hit from a drone launched device.”

Story continues below photo gallery

The cargo ship left the United Arab Emirates on March 13 and is headed next to Mundra, India, according to the website Vesser Finder.

Rooney said so far there’s been very little impact to New York and New Jersey’s facilities, but some ships are being rerouted.

“We have just two services that do call ports in that area and they’ve obviously been diverted from that space,” Rooney said.

“Any ships that were going through the Red Sea are no longer doing that,” Rooney said. “We’re back to doing the circle around the Cape of Good Hope, adding about two weeks of travel time to the overall voyage.”

In 2023, ships bound for New York and New Jersey rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope after the Suez Canal was attacked by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who supported Hamas amid the Israel-Gaza war.

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New Jersey

Jack Hughes Leads New Jersey Devils To 6-3 Win Over New York Rangers

Published

1 day ago

March 19, 2026

Press Room

Jack Hughes Leads New Jersey Devils To 6-3 Win Over New York Rangers

If only it were always this easy.

The New Jersey Devils defeated the New York Rangers tonight by a score of 6-3. If you’re experiencing some deja-vu reading that sentence, that’s because the Devils also beat the Rangers 6-3 less than two weeks ago. Jack Hughes was the story of that game, and Jack Hughes was the story of this game. His goal and two assists helped key a suddenly unstoppable Devils offense. Connor Brown chipped in with a goal and two assists of his own, and Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt each registered a pair of points themselves.

This was a thorough domination from start to finish. The scoreboard might not have reflected that until New Jersey scored a pair of late goals in the third to make this a blowout, but the Devils absolutely smashed the Rangers tonight. New Jersey outshot New York 39-18, including a bewildering 17-2 in the first period. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Devils finished the night with an Expected Goals For% just north of 69%. The power play kept rolling, scoring twice in four tries. The Devils skaters were doing whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. I credit New Jersey for this, but I would be lying if I told you it was all them, as the Rangers played very uninspired hockey. There is such a lack of talent on that team, and they brought very little effort to tonight’s contest. New Jersey was the better team, and this was an impressive victory, but New York also made it extremely easy for them.

The only reason this was still a game for 55 minutes was because Jacob Markstrom was deeply, deeply awful this evening. He allowed three goals on those 18 Ranger shots, good for an .833 save percentage. Natural Stat Trick had New York at 1.54 xGF in all situations, meaning Markstrom gave up about a goal-and-a-half more than expected. At one point, the game was tied when shots were 16-2 and then 17-3 in favor of the Devils, which should be illegal. He was spraying room-service rebounds all over the place, he was swimming in his crease as always, and if the team in front of him didn’t idiot-proof the game, we would be talking about another dispiriting loss. To his credit, he made a big save on an Alexis Lafreniere breakaway (with help from a slash from Simon Nemec), but that was the beginning and end of the praise for Markstrom tonight.

But that’s all the complaining I will do about this game. If you put Markstrom aside, this was one of the most enjoyable Devils games of the season. It’s always good to beat the Rangers of course, but especially in a bloodbath like this. Watching Hughes continue his ownership of the Rangers is fun, watching Arseny Gritsyuk make Adam Fox and Jonathan Quick look like chumps is fun, watching Timo Meier maintain his reputation for being a March assassin is fun, and watching Brown and Hischier and Bratt all put up big nights is fun. Everyone up and down the lineup contributed.

The Devils have now scored six goals in two consecutive games. They have scored six goals three times this season (their only three times this season), all since that March 7 game against the Rangers. The offense overall has been humming since the Olympic break, and the wins are starting to pile up as a result. It’s still almost certainly too little too late, which is truly frustrating. But New Jersey has been playing inspired hockey lately. The product has been much more fun to watch, and not just because it has led to wins. The brand of hockey the Devils are playing is exciting, it’s compelling, and most importantly, it plays to this roster’s strengths. That it took them until the season was already lost to figure it out is such a shame.

But for tonight, the Devils beat the Rangers. It’s always a good night when the Devils beat the Rangers. It might have been over an empty husky of what used to be the Rangers, but for one night, the Devils gave us a reminder of the team they can be at their best.

The Game Highlights: Courtesy of NHL.com

With his assist on Nico Hischier’s power play goal in the first period, Jesper Bratt reached the 500-point plateau. His goal later in the contest meant he finished the night at 501 career points. Reaching such a mark in the NHL is impressive enough, but for a sixth round pick to do so is something truly special. Bratt has pushed himself further than anyone except perhaps himself ever thought he could go, and he is without doubt one of the great homegrown Devils success stories. Tonight, a tip of the cap to the 162nd pick in the 2016 draft. Congratulations on your milestone, Jesper.

The Devils play one more game against the Rangers this season, and if you’re New York, the gameplan for that contest has to start with staying out of the box. New Jersey eviscerated the Rangers’ penalty kill in the first game of the season series, going 3-for-3 with the man advantage. Tonight wasn’t quite on that level, but 2-for-4 on the power play is still terrific production. Even in one of the advantages that didn’t yield a goal, the Devils (particularly the second unit) completely smothered the Rangers’ PK, including Luke Hughes ringing a shot off a post. According to my quick math, the Devils have gone 5-for-7 total on the PP over two games against New York. Simply put, the Rangers have no answers for New Jersey’s power play.

And it’s not just domination over the Rangers either. After tonight’s contest, over their last 17 power plays, New Jersey has converted nine times. That’s a 53% success rate, which is out of this world. It’s a small sample size of course, and it won’t continue. But for a unit that struggled so much through huge portions of this season, it’s nice to see it back at the height of its powers.

The Devils continue their road trip on Friday when they travel to Washington to battle the Capitals. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm.

What did you make of tonight’s game? Aside from the players we’ve already heaped praise on, what other Devils impressed you? What do you expect next time out against Washington? As always, thanks for reading!

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