A recent Appellate Division opinion is a reminder that it’s not just record custodians who face the risk of a $1000 fine for violating OPRA; any public employee, appointee or elected official may be penalized.

The issue actually addressed in the case, Johnson v. Boro of Oceanport, was whether the official had waited too long to ask for reconsideration of the GRC decision that fined him $1000. The court held that the request, made 55 months after the decision, was grossly late and therefore the agency properly refused to consider it.

The more important aspect of this opinion, for all New Jersey public employees and officials, is that the person who was fined for violating OPRA was a Borough councilman. The councilman’s violation was that he failed to respond to several requests made by the custodian for records responsive to an OPRA request.

In prior posts, I’ve highlighted the costs to the government of failing to comply with OPRA. Government officials and employees should not overlook that there are significant potential personal costs of noncompliance as well.