Open Public Records

Open Public Records

By Joe Renna

Presently Public Records are "kept" by government agencies. The onus is on the public to request information for the government to hand over. Some government agencies are not so forthcoming with their records. Delaying the release of public records and outright denial to them had become such a big problem in New Jersey that it was necessary for the state government to enact the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). The State also established the Government Records Council (GRC) to oversee the activities associated with the act. Even with the act in place government agencies still set up barriers to delay and deny access to public records.

People should have access to public records free of barriers. The technology exists which would enable government agencies to post public records on the internet and have them available for review and to be downloaded by the public. The cost savings of record keeping and retrieval would be cut tremendously. For instance if someone were to request the minutes of a public meeting they must make the request using an OPRA request form and submit it to the custodian of records. The custodian must then locate the document, copy it and then arrange to have it sent to the person who requested it. The requester would also be charged a fee for copying or any other cost in retrieving and sending the document. If someone were to go and request the same document the next day the process would then be repeated.

The cost to execute every request is wasteful. The process also gives the government opportunity to hold documents back through various methods. For instance if a person does not know the exact title of a document the request may be denied. There are many methods of delay and denial and though OPRA tries to address them all, loopholes are found and inventive methods are created to make access difficult.

OPRA gives the public more leverage in their right to obtain public records but it also puts the burden of proof of denial and delay on the public's shoulders. Even actions that are illegal according to OPRA must be formally challenged by the public.

There are documents that may not fall under the public record criteria, for instance personal financial information or health records are protected. But for the majority of records that should, undisputedly, be available to the public I propose that they be archived on the internet and access be made available to the public.

I am developing a website utilizing this concept. I will use OPRA to obtain public records and then post them on this site. I will also be a conduit for requests. People seeking public records can request the records anonymously through this website, and I will retrieve them and post them. This service should be offered free of charge by the government. Some requests impose substantial costs so there must be a need for some type of fee. That has to be worked out.

I'm starting with Union County government because they have been the most egregious offenders of the public's right to records. It would be my dream that every municipality, government agency and public entity makes this standard operating procedure. I believe that some day it will be. I'd like to get the ball rolling.

The site will be housed on my existing website while under development. Visit www.joerenna.com and check the progress. I'd also like to invite visitors to email me questions on issues

Not for Nothing But...
open public records
is the antidote
for corruption.