Assembly committee releases OPRA overhaul to further review after hours of public opposition

A New Jersey Assembly committee on Monday released A4045 — a proposed overhaul of the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA) — to the appropriations committee after more than three hours of public testimony from media organizations, civic groups, labor unions and environmental advocates.

Supporters of A4045, including the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, said the 29‑page bill modernizes OPRA to protect personal information and reduce repetitive, resource‑intensive commercial requests. Frank Marshall, policy and advocacy representative for the League of Municipalities, told the committee the measure implements recommendations from an earlier privacy study commission and seeks to protect residents’ home addresses and phone numbers while curbing costly bulk requests.

Opponents said the bill would substantially limit public access to government records. “This proposal would restrict access to emails and calls by exempting logs and requiring requesters to list a specific subject, time period and employee by name,” Joe Strut, an Asbury Park Press reporter, told the committee. Strut and other press witnesses warned that removing mandatory fee‑shifting would deter lawyers from bringing enforcement cases and weaken journalists’ ability to pursue accountability reporting.

Speakers from the New Jersey Press Association, the ACLU of New Jersey, the League of Women Voters and numerous grassroots and environmental organizations gave largely unified testimony that the bill, as drafted, would make it harder for ordinary citizens and local reporters to obtain records needed to monitor government action. Richard Veza, government affairs chair for the New Jersey Press Association, said stakeholders were not given meaningful input and told lawmakers, “We were lied to” about the process of drafting the bill.

At the same time, municipal representatives and some lawmakers argued the bill corrects unintended burdens on local clerks and codifies privacy protections that are more urgent in the internet age. Frank Marshall said many recommended changes are designed to ensure that personal identifying information is not published in ways that enable doxxing or threats.

The committee took a motion to release A4045 to appropriations so the bill can be amended further before a floor vote. During the roll call, the transcript records that Assemblywoman Swift and Assemblyman Simonson registered negative votes; several other members recorded affirmative votes to release the bill. Committee leaders emphasized the release is not final approval and pledged additional amendments and stakeholder engagement before any floor vote.

What happens next: Because the committee released A4045, the bill will go to the appropriations committee where sponsors and opponents said they expect more changes and written proposals. Lawmakers on the record said they do not support the bill in its current form and urged stakeholders to submit specific amendment language for consideration.