MCKEON BILL TO ALLOW DEP TO CHARGE FOR EXCESSIVE OPRA REQUESTS CLEARS COMMITTEE

Measure Would Charge Fee for Requests That Require Extraordinary Time, Effort 

(TRENTON) --  The Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee today released legislation Assemblyman John McKeon sponsored to reduce the number of frivolous government records requests made to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

The bill (A-2963) would entitle DEP to charge a special service fee of $25 per hour for any request that requires over four hours due to "extraordinary expenditure of time and effort." 

"The enormous number of public records requests submitted to the DEP are disrupting the department's ability to perform its core day-to-day functions," said McKeon (D-Essex).  "Numerous records requests expend extraordinary amounts of time, effort and financial resources.  Requests that would further tie the department's hands should carry a modest fee."

According to the DEP's 2007 annual report, the fees the department received for records requests requiring an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort totaled $28,675.  In total it cost the department almost $3 million each year to process these requests. 

"The onslaught of requests this department receives is draining state resources and delaying the department's other responsibilities," said McKeon.  "This bill would release some of the pressure on DEP while preserving public access to government records."

The DEP receives more than 12,000 government records requests a year, totaling more than 63 percent of all public record requests submitted to executive branch state agencies under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). 

The bill would require DEP, within seven business days of receiving an OPRA request, to notify the requestor if the department estimates that the request will take an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort.  The requestor would then have the opportunity to review and object to the charge prior to its being incurred.  Individuals seeking a record for personal nonprofit reasons, charitable organizations, and news media would be exempt from the surcharge.

In addition, the bill would exclude from public access information relating to pending litigation if the requestor is a party to the litigation. 

The bill was released 7 to 0.  It now heads to the Assembly Speaker who decides if and when to post it for a floor vote.

--30--