Berkeley Heights Community Watch just released a letter to State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D Bergen and Passaic) responding to a bill he is sponsoring that would, according to Krystal Knapp of the watchdog platform Jersey Vindicator, “gut the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA), taking away some of the most important provisions of the law, ” which gives citizens rights to access public information and helps them understand how their government functions.

Knapp quotes attorney C.J. Griffin: “It’s shocking that the Legislature has opted to kick off Sunshine Week by putting forth yet another disastrous bill to gut OPRA. There is nothing pro-transparency in this bill — every provision that is added or amended significantly undermines the public’s right to information and makes it much harder, if not impossible, for reporters to do their jobs. This bill brings us darkness, not sunshine.”

The bill will be heard by the Senate Budget And Appropriations Committee on March 11th with no opportunity for stakeholder input.

Here is the letter from BHCW:

Dear Mr. Sarlo,

I am deeply disappointed to learn that you are sponsoring a bill that essentially does the same thing the Danielsen bill did. Under these provisions, our community would have been in the dark on significant budget issues connected to our District, an ongoing transportation controversy, the actual 2023 budget (which even BOE members did not see), BOE ethics violations, and a host of other concerns.

This bill would make it impossible for the everyday person (who is already busy working ridiculous hours to afford to live in this state) to hold their local and state Government accountable.

This bill is nothing but a pathway to making corruption and bad government actions bulletproof. Even more repulsive is the removal of fee-shifting, which takes away any shred of power middle-class and working-class families have in becoming informed and having law enforcement craft the very policies intended to hold their offices accountable.

This second effort to destroy OPRA represents an all-out assault on journalism and good Government.

I am again asking local leaders to reach out to Mr. Sarlo and ask him to stop this irresponsible bill from passing.

Any government leader who supports this legislation or remains silent on this issue does not deserve to hold office—this is a slap in the face to every NJ resident.

BHCW will work tirelessly to ensure elected representative who supports this bill or remains silent will be held accountable – fully and unapologetically -come election.

This is getting ridiculous.

Sincerely,
John Migueis