TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senate President Richard J. Codey, D-Essex, honoring retired Senator Byron M. Baer, cleared the Senate State Government Committee today and now heads to the full Senate for a vote. Bill S-1959, co-sponsored by Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, would rename the “Open Public Meetings Act” after Sen. Baer, who sponsored the groundbreaking law in the mid-1970’s.
“In his years of public service, Byron Baer helped secure many of the rights we take for granted today, one of them being the right to an open and transparent government,” said Sen. Codey. “I was honored to serve beside him in the Senate for so many years and witness his advocacy for civil rights and liberties. For his tireless efforts, this honor is well deserved.”