BHCW is aware of over 200 residents in Berkeley Heights and Surrounding areas that have added their voice to saving the Open Public Records Act. 81% of New Jerseyans are opposed to this bill and have been making calls and writing emails to their representatives in the State Senate and Assembly.
Earlier today John sent an email to State Representatives and our Local governing body:
Good Morning/Afternoon:
At 3 pm today, you will make a decision that will impact the future of government and your legacy as representatives.
I have spent the better part of the morning calling your offices and speaking to your staff (all very professional by the way).
Your choice will be to stand with the 81% of people of this state who believe that transparency and democracy matter- that nothing a representative stands for counts unless a viable mechanism for transparency and accountability in government is in place. 81% of New Jerseyans are opposed to this bill.
This is incredible, considering we cannot even get a consensus in this state on what to call a breakfast sandwich.
Words without the ability to verify are meaningless.
The current OPRA legislation removes the assumption that the public has a right to access the work of it’s representatives. An assumption that NJ residents have enjoyed for decades.
It removes a powerful tool working-class and middle-class families have had in holding their local governments accountable – their municipal government and school districts are better and more responsible because of the current OPRA law.
With the new legislation:
-Working-class and Middle-class families will no longer be able to rely on fee shifting to cover their attorney fees. They will be facing tax-funded attorneys from politically connected firms, and no attorney will take on their case as the threshold to prove malintent is something no lawyer in their right mind would take.
-Government bodies and their attorneys will be weaponized against the people they are supposed to serve. They will be given broad authority to label citizens and advocacy groups as “harassors. – de facto enemy of the state status and be blocked from asking for records if they ask “too much””
-It allows data brokers front-of-the-line access to records because they can pay to play while working-class and middle-class families must wait in the back of the line.
-It creates unnecessary burdens on the requestor by demanding information be present in the request those making the request will not have access to and by preventing a citizen from making the to multiple agencies. In our experience, we have been able to expose disinformation and cover-up by getting information from one body when another indicated that it did not exist.
This bill is a knife to the throat of a citizen-driven government.
We understand that the sponsors of this bill have very comfortable relationships with the League of Municipalities and that the lobbyists for data brokers successfully removed the very provisions of this bill you originally sold to the public.
What is left is a dystopian collection of amendments aimed at undermining the very people who elected you.
Is this what you want to be remembered for?
This decision will define the entirety of your public service.
Think about the kind of NJ you want for your children and grandchildren.
Does this legislation represent the kind of government you want to leave behind for them?
Please step into your wisdom and better nature. Please stand with the people of this state.
Please Vote No on this bill.
Please take the time and send a message to State Representatives to VOTE DOWN THIS BILL. Please call their offices. We still have time. Organizations throughout the state like the ACLU, Working Families Party and League of Women Voters are trying to fight to preserve your rights. Please help them out.