A bill eliminating the fee-shifting provisions in New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act passed both houses of the Legislature Monday, but it has faced several concerns from attorneys since the proposal was before the committees last week.
While the bill, S2930/A4045, modifies the conditions under which a records custodian must respond to requests for records and allows the custodian to deny duplicative requests, it also eliminates the fee-shifting provision, which obligated the government to pay the attorney fees of those who successfully appealed an OPRA denial.
