Governor Murphy Signs New Law Changing the Open Public Records Act

Governor Murphy has signed a Bill, S2930/A4045, which overhauls the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA). The new law modifies the conditions that a records custodian must respond to when a request for records is received. 

A custodian of records may now deny a duplicative request. Further, the new law adds new limitations on what personal information can be revealed via records requests and creates a separate set of rules for commercial requestors.

Most importantly, the new law eliminates the fee-shifting provision, which had previously obligated public entities to pay attorney’s fees to plaintiffs’ attorneys who were successful in a denial of an OPRA request. Plaintiffs’ attorneys have historically created a niche industry filing lawsuits based on the denial of an OPRA request and then seeking exorbitant fees in challenging those denials. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss any issue under the OPRA. I can be reached at 856-414-6048 or you can email me at mjbehr@mdwcg.com. 

^{Legal Updates for New Jersey Public Entity & Civil Rights, June 7, 2024, has been prepared for our readers by Marshall Dennehey. It is solely intended to provide information on recent legal developments and is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. We welcome the opportunity to provide such legal assistance as you require on this and other subjects. If you receive the alerts in error, please send a note tamontemuro@mdwcg.com. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1. © 2024 Marshall Dennehey. All Rights Reserved.}