Use of OPRA Not Limited to Citizens of New Jersey
By: Robert A. Muccilli, Esq.
Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq.
School districts sometimes receive requests for public records from a requestor in another state. Some of these requests come from data mining companies that seek to provide information about school district contracts and vendors to commercial entities. Fulfilling these requests can involve a considerable expenditure of time and effort by the records custodian. Trial court decisions addressing the question of whether an out-of-state requestor may make a valid request for records under the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) have reached different conclusions. On May 16, 2018, in Scheeler v. Atlantic County Municipal Joint Insurance Fund, et al., the Appellate Division resolved the disagreement by holding that OPRA does not limit the right to request access to citizens of New Jersey.
The Court’s conclusion rests mainly on the parts of the statute which mandate disclosure of public records and which permit enforcement actions for failure to disclose. These provisions use the broad terms such as “person” or “requestor.” The Court explained that the term “citizen” when used in other parts of the statute which protect privacy or personal information is not intended as a restrictive word since specific provisions, like the one protecting personnel information, speak of “any individual” or “an individual.” These findings, combined with the legislative policy of promoting broad access to public records, persuaded the Court that a requestor seeking public records under OPRA is not limited to a citizen of New Jersey. Therefore, those individuals who reside outside of New Jersey are clearly permitted to make OPRA requests.
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