An effort by open government advocates to change OPRA dramatically failed today, when the bill, S.782, was not approved by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. The proposed legislation would have revised many longstanding requirements of New Jersey public records law and imposed additional burdens on public bodies and record custodians.

Here are just a few examples of the far-reaching, problematic changes to OPRA that were in S.782:

-A new definition of what constitutes advisory, consultative and deliberative material that would have greatly lessened the ability to withhold records showing agency deliberations

-A requirement that when any records are redacted, the custodian must supply the requestor with an affidavit–i.e., a sworn statement– describing each redacted document and the reason for redaction

-A prohibition against the promulgation of new regulations or executive orders exempting records from disclosure

-A provision that financial penalties will be imposed on custodians for gross negligence, replacing the stricter “knowing and willful” violation of law requirement