S1351

TRENTON – A bill package sponsored by Senator Loretta Weinberg which would modernize and strengthen New Jersey’s Open Public Meetings and Records Acts and increase public transparency and accountability was approved by the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee today.

“In President Obama’s State of the Union address last week, he identified open government as necessary to restore and rebuild people’s faith in the institution of government,” said Senator Weinberg, D-Bergen. “A just and fair government cannot exist in a vacuum of accessible information, and government waste, fraud and abuse are bred in the closed-door meetings and backroom conferences which have constituted business as usual in New Jersey for far too long. These bills would bring New Jersey’s open government laws into the 21st century, and ensure that we’re on the cutting edge of transparency and technology in the Garden State.”

TRENTON – State Senator Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, issued the following statement today praising an Appellate Court decision that would require municipalities to only charge the actual cost of copies of public documents requested under the State’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA):

“This week’s Appellate Court ruling is a significant step forward in the quest for government transparency. It specifically addresses the practice by some public records custodians of charging exorbitant copy fees in order to shirk their responsibility of transparency and accountability to the public.