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title-47•Title 47 — Public Records
All clerks, registers of deeds and mortgages and other officers who are required by law to receive and record deeds, mortgages, bills of sale and other conveyances, or who are required by law to enter, file or record judgments, decrees, mechanics' lien claims, attachments, recognizances, sheriffs' bonds or other liens and encumbrances on real estate in this state, shall, in addition to the entry and record thereof required by law, keep an exact record of the hour and minute, when the same shall be filed, entered or recorded in their respective offices, and such entry, filing or recording shall take effect and be notice thereof from and as of the exact time of the actual entry, filing or recording of the same.
No instrument in writing, with or without an acknowledgment, proof, affidavit or certificate attached thereto, required by law to be recorded or filed in the office of any county clerk or register of deeds and mortgages, shall be received for record or filing in any of such offices, unless such instrument, acknowledgment, proof, affidavit or certificate is written or printed in the English language.
For the purpose of recording, rerecording, recopying or transcribing any or all papers, documents and instruments in writing in the offices of the county clerks and registers of deeds and mortgages and surrogates of any county of this state, loose leaf record books may be used, if, immediately upon the completion of any such book for record purposes, the leaves thereof shall be securely and permanently bound and fastened together; and all recordings, rerecordings, recopyings or transcriptions made in any of such offices prior to March twenty-fifth, one thousand nine hundred and thirteen, in loose leaf record books, the leaves whereof shall be securely and permanently bound and fastened together, shall have the same legal force, meaning and effect as if made in record books having the leaves bound therein.
All papers, documents and instruments in writing authorized or required by law to be recorded in the office of the clerk, registers of deeds and mortgages or surrogate of any county of this state, as well as the record of such papers, documents or instruments in writing, which may be recopied, rerecorded or transcribed pursuant to any law of this state, may be copied, recorded, recopied, rerecorded or transcribed in such offices in typewriting, and such record, rerecord or transcribing made in typewriting shall have the same legal force, meaning and effect as if made in handwriting; and the record of any such papers, documents and instruments in writing, or the recopying, rerecording or transcribing thereof made prior to March eighth, one thousand nine hundred and twelve, in any of such offices in typewriting shall have the same legal force, meaning and effect as if such record, rerecord or transcribing had been made in handwriting.
All papers, documents and instruments in writing authorized or required by law to be recorded, filed, registered, or indexed in the office of the Secretary of State, clerk, register of deeds and mortgages and surrogate of any county of this State, as well as the record and index of any such papers, documents or instruments in writing, which may be recopied, rerecorded or transcribed pursuant to any law of this State, may be recopied, rerecorded, reindexed or transcribed in such offices by means of photography, data processing or image processing, and such rerecord or transcribing, made by means of photography, data processing or image processing, shall have the same legal force, meaning and effect as if made in handwriting or in typewriting.
The Secretary of State, clerk, register of deeds and mortgages and surrogate of any county of this State may make a copy by means of photography, data processing or image processing of any document or instrument and such photographic, data processed or image processed copy, if made, shall have the same legal force, meaning and effect as if made in handwriting or in typewriting.
No map, plat, plan or chart of lands, required or that may be required by law to be filed, or that may be presented to the county clerk, register of deeds and mortgages or surrogate in any county of this State, shall be received for filing unless the same shall be made upon translucent tracing cloth, with fast-colored, waterproof ink and be accompanied by a cloth-print duplicate.
In the recording of deeds, mortgages, wills or other instruments required or authorized by law to be recorded, the clerk, register of deeds and mortgages, surrogate or other officer required to make the record, shall, in addition to the other indexes made and kept by him, make and keep such classified, analytical or combination index as the board of chosen freeholders of the respective counties shall determine, in index books to be provided for that purpose by the board of chosen freeholders, and shall enter therein, according to the classification thereof, an index of all the names required to be indexed in the alphabetical indexes of their respective offices.
Whenever any records of any deeds, mortgages or other instruments of record in the office of any clerk or register of deeds and mortgages of any county of this State are becoming worn out, mutilated, obliterated, obscured, or in such condition that by use the same would be likely to become entirely void, lost or unintelligible, and the title to lands or other property endangered, such clerk or register of deeds and mortgages shall, upon the order of any judge of the Superior Court, rerecord such records anew, in books to be kept in the office of such clerk or register of deeds and mortgages, which books shall be known as the book of "rerecorded deeds," or otherwise, in accordance with the types of instruments so rerecorded, shall be numbered and paged as were the old books, shall be certified by such clerk or register of deeds and mortgages, under his hand and seal, to be true copies of the original records, and shall be reindexed in the appropriate books of indexes of such recorded deeds, mortgages or instruments in such counties, being marked as reindexed. The expense of such rerecording shall be paid by the county in which the same is done, as the judge may determine and direct.
The clerks, registers of deeds and mortgages and surrogates of the several counties of this state may, whenever any of the maps on file in their respective offices shall, by public use, become so worn, torn or otherwise impaired as to be wholly or partly illegible, employ a competent person to copy, retrace, redraft or otherwise restore or make legible such maps, and reindex the same. The compensation of the person so employed shall be fixed and paid by the boards of chosen freeholders of the several counties, according to law.
All warrants for the cancellation or discharge of bonds, or any other discharges, filed in any county clerk's office in this state shall, in addition to the other requirements of law, have inserted therein the book and page where the bond is recorded; and the respective county clerks may refuse to cancel or satisfy any bond unless such book and page is inserted in such warrants.
b. No public agency, County Clerk or Register shall adopt, use or employ any system for recording, filing, registration or indexing as authorized by R.S.47:1-5, as amended by this act, unless the same shall conform to the rules and regulations to be promulgated by the Division of Archives and Records Management in the Department of State pursuant to subsection a. of this section, and shall first be approved by the Division of Archives and Records Management. No such system shall be approved until the Division of Archives and Records Management shall have fully promulgated those rules and regulations.
c. Any system for recording, filing, registration or indexing as authorized by R.S. 47:1-5, as amended by this act, which employs data processing or image processing, and which was adopted, used or employed prior to the effective date of this act, shall nevertheless be subject to the rules and regulations to be promulgated by the Division of Archives and Records Management pursuant to subsection a. of this section. The approval of the Division of Archives and Records Management shall be necessary to bring about the compliance of such systems, in a prompt and orderly fashion, with the standards set forth in the rules and regulations.
b. Whenever a document is presented for public recording with any county recording authority and that document displays a person's Social Security number, the recording authority shall delete, strike, obliterate or otherwise expunge that number prior to recording the document.
The fact that such a document is recorded without deleting, striking, obliterating or otherwise expunging that Social Security number shall not render the document invalid, void, voidable or in any way defective.
c. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to a document originating with any court or taxing authority, any document that when filed by law constitutes a non-consensual lien against an individual, any publicly recorded document that is required by law to contain a Social Security number, or any document filed with or recorded by a County Surrogate.
d. The county recording authority shall not be liable for any claims arising from a violation of this act.
government records shall be readily accessible for inspection, copying, or examination by the citizens of this State, with certain exceptions, for the protection of the public interest, and any limitations on the right of access accorded by P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) as amended and supplemented, shall be construed in favor of the public's right of access;
all government records shall be subject to public access unless exempt from such access by: P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) as amended and supplemented; any other statute; resolution of either or both houses of the Legislature; regulation promulgated under the authority of any statute or Executive Order of the Governor; Executive Order of the Governor; Rules of Court; any federal law, federal regulation, or federal order;
a public agency has a responsibility and an obligation to safeguard from public access a citizen's personal information with which it has been entrusted when disclosure thereof would violate the citizen's reasonable expectation of privacy; and nothing contained in P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), as amended and supplemented, shall be construed as affecting in any way the common law right of access to any record, including but not limited to criminal investigatory records of a law enforcement agency.
"Biotechnology" means any technique that uses living organisms, or parts of living organisms, to make or modify products, to improve plants or animals, or to develop micro-organisms for specific uses; including the industrial use of recombinant DNA, cell fusion, and novel bioprocessing techniques.
"Child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency" means an employee of the Division of Child Protection and Permanency in the Department of Children and Families whose primary duty is to investigate reports of child abuse and neglect, or any other employee of the Department of Children and Families whose duties include investigation, response to, or review of allegations of child abuse and neglect.
"Commercial purpose" means the direct or indirect use of any part of a government record for sale, resale, solicitation, rent, or lease of a service or any use by which the user expects a profit either through commission, salary, or fee. "Commercial purpose" shall not include the use of a government record for any purpose by:
(1) the news media, or any parent company, subsidiary, or affiliate of any news media, as defined by section 2 of P.L.1977, c.253 (C.2A:84A-21a) ;
(2) any news, journalistic, educational, scientific, scholarly, or governmental organization;
(3) any person authorized to act on behalf of a candidate committee, joint candidate committee, political committee, continuing political committee, political party committee, or legislative leadership committee, as defined by section 3 of P.L.1973, c.83 (C.19:44A-3), registered with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission;
(4) any labor organization;
(5) any contractor signatory to a collective bargaining agreement seeking information material to the enforcement of State or federal statutes or regulations regarding, but not limited to, wage and hour protections, workplace safety, or public procurement and public bidding, including, but not limited to, requests for certified payrolls or information about all bids submitted in response to a public procurement process subsequent to the deadline for the submission of all bids for that solicitation;
(6) any employee, agent, contractor, or affiliates of any entity identified in paragraphs (1) through (5) of this definition in this section; or
(7) any non-profit entity, including organizations or individuals qualified for exemption from federal taxation pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. s.501(c)(3) and section 501(c)(4) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. s.501(c)(4), when the entity does not sell, resell, solicit, rent, or lease a government record to an unaffiliated third party in a way in which the entity expects a fee.
"Constituent" means any State resident or other person communicating with a member of the Legislature.
"Criminal investigatory record" means a record which is not required by law to be made, maintained or kept on file that is held by a law enforcement agency which pertains to any criminal investigation or related civil enforcement proceeding.
"Custodian of a government record" or "custodian" means in the case of a municipality, the municipal clerk and in the case of any other public agency, the officer officially designated by formal action of that agency's director or governing body, as the case may be.
"Government record" or "record" means any paper, written or printed book, document, drawing, map, plan, photograph, microfilm, data processed or image processed document, information stored or maintained electronically or by sound-recording or in a similar device, or any copy thereof, that has been made, maintained or kept on file in the course of his or its official business by any officer, commission, agency or authority of the State or of any political subdivision thereof, including subordinate boards thereof, or that has been received in the course of his or its official business by any such officer, commission, agency, or authority of the State or of any political subdivision thereof, including subordinate boards thereof. The terms shall not include inter-agency or intra-agency advisory, consultative, or deliberative material
"Labor organization" means any organization which exists and is constituted for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions of employment, or of other mutual aid or protection in connection with employment.
A government record shall not include the following information which is deemed to be confidential for the purposes of P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) as amended and supplemented:
information received by a member of the Legislature from a constituent or information held by a member of the Legislature concerning a constituent, including, but not limited to, information in written form or contained in any e-mail or computer data base, or in any telephone record whatsoever, unless it is information the constituent is required by law to transmit;
any memorandum, correspondence, notes, report or other communication prepared by, or for, the specific use of a member of the Legislature in the course of the member's official duties, except that this provision shall not apply to an otherwise publicly-accessible report which is required by law to be submitted to the Legislature or its members;
any copy, reproduction or facsimile of any photograph, negative or print, including instant photographs and videotapes of the body, or any portion of the body, of a deceased person, taken by or for the medical examiner at the scene of death or in the course of a post mortem examination or autopsy made by or caused to be made by the medical examiner except for use by a legal next of kin, a legal representative, or an attending physician of the deceased person, for use as a court of this State permits, or for use by any law enforcement agency in this State or any other state or federal law enforcement agency;
criminal investigatory records;
the portion of any criminal record concerning a person's detection, apprehension, arrest, detention, trial or disposition for unlawful manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing, or possessing or having under control with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, marijuana or hashish in violation of paragraph (11) of subsection b. of N.J.S.2C:35-5, or a lesser amount of marijuana or hashish in violation of paragraph (12) of subsection b. of that section, or a violation of either of those paragraphs and a violation of subsection a. of section 1 of P.L.1987, c.101 (C.2C:35-7) or subsection a. of section 1 of P.L.1997, c.327 (C.2C:35-7.1) for distributing, dispensing, or possessing, or having under control with intent to distribute or dispense, on or within 1,000 feet of any school property, or on or within 500 feet of the real property comprising a public housing facility, public park, or public building, or for obtaining, possessing, using, being under the influence of, or failing to make lawful disposition of marijuana or hashish in violation of paragraph (3) or (4) of subsection a., or subsection b., or subsection c. of N.J.S.2C:35-10, or for a violation of any of those provisions and a violation of N.J.S.2C:36-2 for using or possessing with intent to use drug paraphernalia with that marijuana or hashish;
victims' records, except that a victim of a crime shall have access to the victim's own records;
any written request by a crime victim for a record to which the victim is entitled to access as provided in this section, including, but not limited to, any law enforcement agency report, domestic violence offense report, and temporary or permanent restraining order;
personal firearms records, except for use by any person authorized by law to have access to these records or for use by any government agency, including any court or law enforcement agency, for purposes of the administration of justice;
personal identifying information received by the Division of Fish and Wildlife in the Department of Environmental Protection in connection with the issuance of any license authorizing hunting with a firearm;
trade secrets and proprietary commercial or financial information obtained from any source. For the purposes of this paragraph, trade secrets shall include software, applications, and code obtained by a public body under a licensing agreement which prohibits its disclosure;
any record within the attorney-client privilege. This paragraph shall not be construed as exempting from access attorney or consultant bills or invoices except that such bills or invoices may be redacted to remove any information protected by the attorney-client privilege;
administrative or technical information regarding computer hardware, tablets, telephones, electronic computing devices, software applications, and networks or devices which operate on or as a part of a computer network or related technologies within the same, which shall include system logs, event logs, transaction logs, tracing logs, or any logs which are reasonably construed to be similar to the same and generated by the devices or servers covered within this paragraph, which, if disclosed, could jeopardize computer security, or related technologies;
emergency or security information or procedures for any buildings or facility which, if disclosed, would jeopardize security of the building or facility or persons therein;
security measures and surveillance techniques which, if disclosed, would create a risk to the safety of persons, property, electronic data or software;
security alarm system activity and access reports, including video footage, for any public building, facility, or grounds unless the request identifies a specific incident that occurred, or a specific date and limited time period at a particular public building, facility, or grounds, and is deemed not to compromise the integrity of the security system by revealing capabilities and vulnerabilities of the system;
information which, if disclosed, would give an advantage to competitors or bidders, including detailed or itemized cost estimates prior to bid opening;
information generated by or on behalf of public employers or public employees in connection with any sexual harassment complaint filed with a public employer or with any grievance filed by or against an individual or in connection with collective negotiations, including documents and statements of strategy or negotiating position;
information which is a communication between a public agency and its insurance carrier, administrative service organization or risk management office;
information which is to be kept confidential pursuant to court order;
any copy of form DD-214, NGB-22, or that form, issued by the United States Government, or any other certificate of honorable discharge, or copy thereof, from active service or the reserves of a branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, or from service in the organized militia of the State, that has been filed by an individual with a public agency, except that a veteran or the veteran's spouse or surviving spouse shall have access to the veteran's own records;
any copy of an oath of allegiance, oath of office or any affirmation taken upon assuming the duties of any public office, or that oath or affirmation, taken by a current or former officer or employee in any public office or position in this State or in any county or municipality of this State, including members of the Legislative Branch, Executive Branch, Judicial Branch, and all law enforcement entities, except that the full name, title, and oath date of that person contained therein shall not be deemed confidential;
that portion of any document which discloses the social security number, credit card number, debit card number, bank account information, month and day of birth, any personal email address required by a public agency for government applications, services, or programs, any telephone number or driver license number of any person, or, in accordance with section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2), that portion of any document which discloses the home address, whether a primary or secondary residence, of any active, formerly active, or retired judicial officer, law enforcement officer, child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, or prosecutor, or, as defined in section 1 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-1), any immediate family member thereof; except for use by any government agency, including any court or law enforcement agency, in carrying out its functions, or any private person or entity acting on behalf thereof, or any private person or entity seeking to enforce payment of court-ordered child support; except with respect to the disclosure of driver information by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission as permitted by section 2 of P.L.1997, c.188 (C.39:2-3.4); except with respect to the disclosure of information included in records and documents maintained by the Department of the Treasury in connection with the State's business registry programs; and except that a social security number contained in a record required by law to be made, maintained or kept on file by a public agency shall be disclosed when access to the document or disclosure of that information is not otherwise prohibited by State or federal law, regulation or order or by State statute, resolution of either or both houses of the Legislature, Executive Order of the Governor, rule of court or regulation promulgated under the authority of any statute or executive order of the Governor;
that portion of any document that discloses the personal identifying information of any person provided to a public agency for the sole purpose of receiving official notifications;
a list of persons identifying themselves as being in need of special assistance in the event of an emergency maintained by a municipality for public safety purposes pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2017, c.266 (C.40:48-2.67) and their personal identifying information;
a list of persons identifying themselves as being in need of special assistance in the event of an emergency maintained by a county for public safety purposes pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2011, c.178 (C.App.A:9-43.13) and their personal identifying information;
that portion of any document that requires and would disclose personal identifying information of persons under the age of 18 years, except with respect to the disclosure of driver information by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission as permitted by section 2 of P.L.1997, c.188 (C.39:2-3.4) or the disclosure of driver information to any insurer or insurance support organization, or a self-insured entity, or its agents, employees, or contractors, for use in connection with claims investigation activities, antifraud activities, rating, or underwriting, and except with respect to the disclosure of voter information on voter and election records pursuant to section 8 of P.L.2024, c.16 (C.47:1A-5.3);
personal identifying information disclosed on domestic animal permits, licenses, and registration;
structured reference data that helps to sort and identify attributes of the information it describes, referred to as metadata, or any extrapolation or compilation thereof, which shall include the SMTP header properties of emails, except that portion that identifies authorship, identity of editor, and time of change;
New Jersey State Firemen's Association financial relief applications;
owner and maintenance manuals;
data classified under the "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996," Pub.L.104-191; and
any indecent or graphic images of a person's intimate parts, as defined in section 10 of P.L.2024, c.16 (C.47:1A-5.2), that are captured in a photograph or video recording without the prior written consent of the subject of the photograph or video footage, as defined in section 10 of P.L.2024, c.16 (C.47:1A-5.2).
A government record shall not include, with regard to any public institution of higher education, the following information which is deemed to be privileged and confidential:
pedagogical, scholarly and/or academic research records and/or the specific details of any research project conducted under the auspices of a public higher education institution in New Jersey, including, but not limited to, research, development information, testing procedures, or information regarding test participants, related to the development or testing of any pharmaceutical or pharmaceutical delivery system, except that a custodian may not deny inspection of a government record or part thereof that gives the name, title, expenditures, source and amounts of funding and date when the final project summary of any research will be available;
test questions, scoring keys and other examination data pertaining to the administration of an examination for employment or academic examination;
records of pursuit of charitable contributions or records containing the identity of a donor of a gift if the donor requires non-disclosure of the donor's identity as a condition of making the gift provided that the donor has not received any benefits of or from the institution of higher education in connection with such gift other than a request for memorialization or dedication;
valuable or rare collections of books or documents obtained by gift, grant, bequest or devise conditioned upon limited public access;
information contained on individual admission applications; and
information concerning student records or grievance or disciplinary proceedings against a student to the extent disclosure would reveal the identity of the student.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the requirements to provide and make publicly available the information pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.29) and section 5 of P.L.1999, c.238 (C.34:11-56.52).
"Judicial officer" means any active, formerly active, or retired federal, state, county, or municipal judge, including a judge of the Tax Court and any other court of limited jurisdiction established, altered, or abolished by law, a judge of the Office of Administrative Law, a judge of the Division of Workers' Compensation, and any other judge established by law who serves in the executive branch.
"Law enforcement agency" means a public agency, or part thereof, determined by the Attorney General to have law enforcement responsibilities.
"Law enforcement officer" means a person whose public duties include the power to act as an officer for the detection, apprehension, arrest, and conviction of offenders against the laws of this State.
"Member of the Legislature" means any person elected or selected to serve in the New Jersey Senate or General Assembly.
"Personal firearms record" means any information contained in a background investigation conducted by the chief of police, the county prosecutor, or the Superintendent of State Police, of any applicant for a permit to purchase a handgun, firearms identification card license, or firearms registration; any application for a permit to purchase a handgun, firearms identification card license, or firearms registration; any document reflecting the issuance or denial of a permit to purchase a handgun, firearms identification card license, or firearms registration; and any permit to purchase a handgun, firearms identification card license, or any firearms license, certification, certificate, form of register, or registration statement. For the purposes of this paragraph, information contained in a background investigation shall include, but not be limited to, identity, name, address, social security number, telephone number, fax number, driver's license number, email address, or social media address of any applicant, licensee, registrant, or permit holder.
"Public agency" or "agency" means any of the principal departments in the Executive Branch of State Government, and any division, board, bureau, office, commission or other instrumentality within or created by such department; the Legislature of the State and any office, board, bureau or commission within or created by the Legislative Branch; and any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality or agency. The terms also mean any political subdivision of the State or combination of political subdivisions, and any division, board, bureau, office, commission or other instrumentality within or created by a political subdivision of the State or combination of political subdivisions, and any independent authority, commission, instrumentality or agency created by a political subdivision or combination of political subdivisions.
"Victim of a crime" means a person who has suffered personal or psychological injury or death or incurs loss of or injury to personal or real property as a result of a crime, or if such a person is deceased or incapacitated, a member of that person's immediate family.
"Victim's record" means an individually identifiable file or document held by a victims' rights agency which pertains directly to a victim of a crime except that a victim of a crime shall have access to the victim's own records.
"Victims' rights agency" means a public agency, or part thereof, the primary responsibility of which is providing services, including, but not limited to, food, shelter, or clothing, medical, psychiatric, psychological or legal services or referrals, information and referral services, counseling and support services, or financial services to victims of crimes, including victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, violent crime, child endangerment, child abuse or child neglect, and the Victims of Crime Compensation Board, established pursuant to P.L.1971, c.317 (C.52:4B-1 et seq.) and continued as the Victims of Crime Compensation Office pursuant to P.L.2007, c.95 (C.52:4B-3.2 et al.) and Reorganization Plan No. 001-2008.
As used in this section, "personal identifying information" means information that may be used, alone or in conjunction with any other information, to identify a specific individual. Personal identifying information shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following data elements: name, social security number, credit card number, debit card number, bank account information, month and day of birth, any personal email address required by a public agency for government applications, services, or programs, personal telephone number, the street address portion of any person's primary or secondary home address, or driver license number of any person. "Personal identifying information" shall not include any street address, mailing address, email address, or telephone number of a public agency. "Personal identifying information" shall not include the email address of a governmental affairs agent.
b. A public agency shall not make any biotechnology trade secrets and related confidential information it has access to under this act available to any other public agency, or to the general public, except as allowed pursuant to federal law.
b. A government record containing personal identifying information which is protected under the provisions of this section may be released only if the information is necessary to assist in the defense of the requestor. A determination that the information is necessary to assist in the requestor's defense shall be made by the court upon motion by the requestor or his representative.
c. Notwithstanding the provisions of P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) as amended and supplemented, or any other law to the contrary, a custodian shall not comply with an anonymous request for a government record which is protected under the provisions of this section.
b. Notwithstanding the provisions of P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), as amended and supplemented, the following information concerning a criminal investigation shall be available to the public within 24 hours or as soon as practicable, of a request for such information:
where a crime has been reported but no arrest yet made, information as to the type of crime, time, location and type of weapon, if any;
if an arrest has been made, information as to the name, address and age of any victims unless there has not been sufficient opportunity for notification of next of kin of any victims of injury and/or death to any such victim or where the release of the names of any victim would be contrary to existing law or court rule. In deciding on the release of information as to the identity of a victim, the safety of the victim and the victim's family, and the integrity of any ongoing investigation, shall be considered;
if an arrest has been made, information as to the defendant's name, age, residence, occupation, marital status and similar background information and, the identity of the complaining party unless the release of such information is contrary to existing law or court rule;
information as to the text of any charges such as the complaint, accusation and indictment unless sealed by the court or unless the release of such information is contrary to existing law or court rule;
information as to the identity of the investigating and arresting personnel and agency and the length of the investigation;
information of the circumstances immediately surrounding the arrest, including but not limited to the time and place of the arrest, resistance, if any, pursuit, possession and nature and use of weapons and ammunition by the suspect and by the police; and
information as to circumstances surrounding bail, whether it was posted and the amount thereof.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, where it shall appear that the information requested or to be examined will jeopardize the safety of any person or jeopardize any investigation in progress or may be otherwise inappropriate to release, such information may be withheld. This exception shall be narrowly construed to prevent disclosure of information that would be harmful to a bona fide law enforcement purpose or the public safety. Whenever a law enforcement official determines that it is necessary to withhold information, the official shall issue a brief statement explaining the decision.
b. (1) A copy or copies of a government record may be purchased by any person upon payment of the fee prescribed by law or regulation.
Except as otherwise provided by law or regulation and except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the fee assessed for the duplication of a government record embodied in the form of printed matter shall be $0.05 per letter size page or smaller, and $0.07 per legal size page or larger. Access to electronic records and non-printed materials shall be provided free of charge, but the public agency may charge for the actual costs of any needed supplies such as computer discs. No fee shall be charged if the request is completed by directing the requestor to the requested government record that is available on the public agency's website or the website of another public agency.
(2) No fee shall be charged to a victim of a crime for a copy or copies of a record to which the crime victim is entitled to access, as provided in section 1 of P.L.1995, c.23 (C.47:1A-1.1).
c. Whenever the nature, format, manner of collation, or volume of a government record embodied in the form of printed matter to be inspected, examined, or copied pursuant to this section is such that the record cannot be reproduced by ordinary document copying equipment in ordinary business size or involves an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort to accommodate the request, the public agency may charge, in addition to the actual cost of duplicating the record, a special service charge that shall be based upon the actual direct cost of providing the copy or copies, and such special service charge shall be reasonable. The custodian shall provide the requestor with an explanation for and an itemized list of the fees or charges.
The requestor shall have the opportunity to review and object to any fee or charge prior to it being incurred. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the fees or charges presented by the custodian are reasonable. If the requestor objects to the fees or charges, the burden of proof shall be on the requestor to demonstrate that the fees or charges are unreasonable.
d. A custodian shall permit access to a government record and provide a copy thereof in the medium or format requested if the public agency maintains the record in that medium or format. If the public agency does not maintain the record in the medium or format requested, the custodian shall convert the record to the medium or format requested, if the medium or format is available to the public agency and does not require a substantial amount of manipulation or programming of information technology or the services of a third-party vendor. If the public agency converts the record to the medium or format requested, the agency may charge, in addition to the actual cost of duplication, a special service fee that shall be reasonable and shall be based on the cost for any extensive use of information technology, or for the labor cost of personnel providing the service, that is actually incurred by the agency or attributable to the agency for the programming, clerical, and supervisory assistance required, or both. If the public agency does not maintain the record in the electronic medium or format requested, and the medium or format is not available to the public agency without a substantial amount of manipulation or programming of information technology, the custodian shall be under no obligation to convert the record to the electronic medium or format requested but shall, at a minimum, provide a copy in the electronic format maintained by the public agency.
e. Immediate access ordinarily shall be granted to budgets, bills, vouchers, contracts, including collective negotiations agreements and individual employment contracts, and public employee salary and overtime information. Immediate access to government records shall not be required to be granted for documents over 24 months old.
Government records shall be made available to the public on a publicly available website to the extent feasible. A public agency may enter into shared services agreements for providing certain government records electronically.
If the government record in a complete and unabridged form is readily available on a public agency's website, the custodian may require the requestor to obtain the record from the website, which shall contain a search bar feature on its home page. The custodian shall provide the requestor with directions to assist in finding the record on the website, including providing the website URL address and the location on the website of the search bar, menu button, tab, link, landing page, or equivalent, which contains the requested record. If the requestor does not respond to the custodian within seven business days of the custodian providing information about a record on the public agency's website, the request shall be deemed fulfilled unless the version of the government record on the public agency's website fails to contain non-protected information contained in the original record, in which case the custodian shall produce the original version of the record subject to any redactions required by law. If, after the custodian has provided instructions on how to find a record on a public agency's website, the requestor is unable to find the record upon making a good faith effort to locate the record on the website, the requestor shall notify the custodian within seven business days of the custodian providing the information. Upon receiving such a request for assistance from a requestor, the custodian shall make a reasonable attempt to assist the requestor in finding the record on the website within seven business days of the requestor notifying the custodian. If the requestor is still unable to locate the record and requests a physical copy, the custodian shall provide the requestor with a physical copy of the record for a fee not exceeding two times the cost of the production of the document. The custodian shall provide the requestor with the physical copy of the record within seven business days of the request for a physical copy.
f. The custodian of a public agency shall adopt the form established by the Government Records Council pursuant to subsection b. of section 8 of P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-7),for the use of any person who requests access to a government record held or controlled by the public agency. The form shall provide space for the name, address, email address and telephone number of the requestor and a brief description of the government record sought. A request shall be submitted by a requestor in the form adopted by the custodian and the custodian may deny a request that is incomplete, except that a requestor indicating the request is being submitted anonymously shall not be grounds for denial. A completed form adopted by the custodian, a letter, or an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request. If the letter or email from a requestor includes substantially more information than required on the adopted form and requires more than reasonable effort to clarify the information, the custodian may deny the request. If a letter or an email from a requestor does not include all of the information required on the adopted form, the custodian may deny the record request. A request may be submitted anonymously provided, however, that anonymous requestors shall not be permitted to institute proceedings pursuant to section 7 of P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-6). A request that is submitted anonymously shall not be considered incomplete.
The form also shall include space for a requestor to certify whether the government record will be used by that requestor or another person for a commercial purpose, and the requestor shall be required to provide this information for the request to be fulfilled.
The form shall include space for the custodian to indicate which record will be made available, when the record will be available, and the fees to be charged. The form shall also include the following: (1) specific directions and procedures for requesting a record; (2) a statement as to whether prepayment of fees or a deposit is required; (3) the time period within which the public agency is required by P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) as amended and supplemented, to make the record available; (4) a statement of the requestor's right to challenge a decision by the public agency to deny access and the procedure for filing an appeal; (5) space for the custodian to list reasons if a request is denied in whole or in part; (6) space for the requestor to sign and date the form; (7) space for the custodian to sign and date the form if the request is fulfilled or denied. The custodian may require a deposit against costs for reproducing documents sought through a request whenever the custodian anticipates that the information thus requested will cost in excess of $5 to reproduce.
Custodians who have adopted electronic government record request forms shall provide directions on how to submit requests for government records, including any required forms, on the public agency's website.
Custodians shall be permitted to provide an electronic response to any electronic records request if government records are available electronically.
g. A request for access to a government record shall be in writing and hand-delivered, mailed, transmitted electronically, or otherwise conveyed to the appropriate custodian. A public agency may make available to the public on its website an online form, portal, or software for transmitting requests electronically. The form established by the Government Records Council, pursuant to subsection b. of section 8 of P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-7), may be submitted electronically or by fax. Each submission of a government record request form or an email record request shall be made to the custodian of not more than one public agency. Submission of repeated requests to multiple custodians in the same public agency for the same record, while an identical or substantially similar request is pending in the agency, shall permit the custodian to deny the request.
A custodian shall promptly comply with a request to inspect, examine, copy, or provide a copy of a government record. If the custodian is unable to comply with a request for access, the custodian shall indicate the specific basis therefor on the request form and promptly return it to the requestor. The custodian shall sign and date the form and provide the requestor with a copy thereof. If the custodian of a government record asserts that part of a particular record is exempt from public access pursuant to P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) as amended and supplemented, the custodian shall delete or excise from a copy of the record that portion which the custodian asserts is exempt from access and shall promptly permit access to the remainder of the record. If a request for access to a government record would substantially disrupt agency operations, the custodian may deny access to the record after informing the requestor of the potential disruption to agency operations and attempting to reach a reasonable solution with the requestor that accommodates the interests of the requestor and the agency.
A party to a legal proceeding may not request a government record if the record sought is the subject of a court order, including a pending discovery request, and a custodian shall not be required to complete such a request. The requestor shall be required to certify whether the government record is being sought in connection with a legal proceeding and identify the proceeding for the request to be fulfilled. For purposes of this provision, a party to a legal proceeding shall include a party subject to a court order, any attorney representing that party, and any person acting as an agent for or on behalf of that party. Nothing in this paragraph shall bar a request for a government record filed by a labor organization or by a contractor signatory to a collective bargaining agreement seeking information material to the enforcement of State or federal statutes or regulations regarding, but not limited to, wage and hour protections, workplace safety, or public procurement and public bidding, including, but not limited to, requests for certified payrolls or information about all bids submitted in response to a public procurement process subsequent to the deadline for the submission of all bids for that solicitation, when the request by the labor organization or contractor signatory is not sought in connection with or in furtherance of discovery requests in a court proceeding.
A custodian shall not be required to complete a request, including for, but not limited to, mail, email, text messages, correspondence, or social media postings and messages, if the request does not identify a specific job title or accounts to be searched, a specific subject matter, and is not confined to a reasonable time period, or if the custodian determines that the request would require research and the collection of information from the contents of government records and the creation of new government records setting forth that research and information. It shall be sufficient for a requestor to identify specific individuals by the individual's job title and position.
h. Any officer or employee of a public agency who receives a request for access to a government record shall forward the request to the custodian of the record or direct the requestor to the custodian of the record. The request shall not be considered submitted until it is received by the custodian of records.
i. (1) Unless a shorter time period is otherwise provided by statute, regulation, or executive order, a custodian of a government record shall grant access to a government record or deny a request for access to a government record as soon as possible, but not later than seven business days after receiving the request, or 14 business days if the request is for a commercial purpose or if the records have to be reviewed by the public agency for the purpose of the agency's compliance with P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-1 et seq.), but the custodian shall notify the requestor of the additional response time within seven business days, provided that the record is currently available and not in storage or archived. The response time periods of seven or 14 business days, as established in this subsection, shall be an additional seven business days longer if the public agency is a fire district which employs one or fewer full-time employees who serve as custodians. If a commercial requestor would like to receive the record within seven business days, as established in this subsection, the custodian shall provide the requestor with a copy of the record and may charge a special service fee not exceeding two times the cost of the production of the record.
In the event a records custodian is unable to fulfill a records request due to unforeseen circumstances or circumstances that otherwise reasonably necessitate additional time to fulfill the records request, the custodian shall be entitled to a reasonable extension of any response deadline and shall notify the requestor of the time extension within seven business days after receiving the request.
In the event a custodian fails to respond within seven business days or 14 business days, as appropriate, after receiving a request, the failure to respond shall be deemed a denial of the request, unless the requestor has elected not to accurately identify themselves or to provide an accurate address, email address, or telephone number. If the requestor has elected not to accurately identify themselves or to provide an accurate address, email address, or telephone number, the custodian shall not be required to respond until the requestor contacts the custodian seeking a response to the original request.
If the government record is in storage or archived, the requestor shall be so advised within seven or 14 business days, as appropriate, after the custodian receives the request. The requestor shall be advised by the custodian when the record can be made available, which shall be no more than 21 business days from the date the requestor is so advised. If the record is not made available by that time, access shall be deemed denied.
A public agency shall not be considered to be in possession of a public record that is created, maintained, or received by another public agency and made available to the public agency either by remote access to a computer network or by distribution as a courtesy copy, unless the agency that created, maintained, or received the record resides within the judicial branch of the State Government. A records custodian of a public agency that receives a request for a record created, maintained, or received by another public agency shall not be obligated to provide the record to the requestor. In the event the custodian does not provide the record, the custodian shall direct the requestor within seven business days to the public agency that, to the best of their knowledge, created, maintains, or received the requested record, at which time the request shall be considered completed.
The custodian shall not be required to complete an identical request for access to a government record from the same requestor if the information has not changed. Nothing in this section shall prevent a requestor from filing periodic requests regarding regularly updated public records, including, but not limited to, certified payrolls, permits, and licensing applications.
A requestor shall have 14 business days to retrieve the government records following notice from the custodian that the request has been completed and the records are available.
(2) During a period declared pursuant to the laws of this State as a state of emergency, public health emergency, or state of local disaster emergency, the deadlines by which to respond to a request for, or grant or deny access to, a government record under paragraph (1) of this subsection or subsection e. of this section shall not apply, provided, however, that the custodian of a government record shall make a reasonable effort, as the circumstances permit, to respond to a request for access to a government record within seven business days or 14 business days, as appropriate, or as soon as possible thereafter.
j. A custodian shall include information on the public agency's website and public records request form regarding a requestor's right to appeal a denial of, or failure to provide, access to a government record and the procedure by which an appeal may be filed, which shall include the website address and toll-free information line phone number of the Government Records Council.
k. The files maintained by the Office of the Public Defender that relate to the handling of any case shall be considered confidential and shall not be open to inspection by any person unless authorized by law, court order, or the State Public Defender.
The requestor shall have notice and an opportunity to answer the allegations set forth in the petition submitted by the public agency.
The public agency shall have the burden of proof by clear and convincing evidence.
The court's consideration of a public agency's complaint for relief shall proceed in a summary or expedited manner.
b. The order specified in subsection a. of this section may limit, or, in appropriate circumstances, eliminate the public agency's duty to respond to government records requests from the requestor in the future.
c. Requests for government records filed by a labor organization or by a contractor signatory to a collective bargaining agreement seeking information material to the enforcement of State or federal statutes or regulations regarding, but not limited to, wage and hour protections, workplace safety, or public procurement and public bidding, including, but not limited to, requests for certified payrolls or information about all bids submitted in response to a public procurement process subsequent to the deadline for the submission of all bids for that solicitation, when the request by the labor organization or contractor signatory is not sought in connection to or in furtherance of discovery requests in a court proceeding, shall not be considered to be intended to interrupt government functions, and shall not form the basis for the filing of a complaint under this section.
b. A person who knowingly violates the provisions of subsection a. of this section shall be guilty of a disorderly persons offense.
c. As used in this section:
"Disclose" means to sell, manufacture, give, provide, lend, mail, deliver, transfer, publish, post, distribute, circulate, disseminate, present, exhibit, advertise, offer, share, or make available through the Internet or by any other means, whether or not for pecuniary gain.
"Indecent or graphic" means images depicting exposed intimate parts in a manner that would be clearly visible to a reasonable person.
"Intimate parts" means the following body parts: sexual organs, genital area, anal area, inner thigh, groin, buttock, or breast of a person.
"Subject of the photograph or video footage" means a person who appears in the photograph or video recording.
b. Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, except as otherwise provided in sections 2 and 3 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-1 et seq.), subsection b. of section 1 of P.L.1994, c.148 (C.19:31-3.2), or in any rules or regulations promulgated by the Secretary of State pursuant to subsection f. of this section, the following shall be records for which the provided information shall not be redacted by an election agency except for voter signatures, Social Security numbers, driver license numbers, and non-driver identification numbers:
(1) Voter registration forms and forms changing the provided information thereof;
(2) Party affiliation forms and forms changing the provided information thereof;
(3) Applications for a vote-by-mail ballot, except as otherwise provided in sections 3 and 13 of P.L.2020, c.70 (C.19:63-1 et seq.);
(4) Forms or reports submitted to the Election Law Enforcement Commission;
(5) Nominating petitions for any candidate for any elected office, which shall be provided in a manner that includes voter signatures on such petitions;
(6) Petitions to recall an elected official, which shall be provided in a manner that includes voter signatures on such petitions;
(7) Petitions or submissions for any public question or referenda to be considered by voters, which shall be provided in a manner that includes voter signatures on such petitions;
(8) Any submissions, responses, objections, or challenges pertaining to a record referred to in this subsection; and
(9) Any addendums, amendments, corrections, withdrawals, or accompanying forms or submissions pertaining to a record referred to in this subsection.
c. Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the following shall be records and information that an election agency shall make available to requestors for immediate access and transmission via email as soon as possible, but not later than two business days after receipt of the request, provided the request is not for a commercial purpose, for which a fee shall not be charged nor collected:
(1) Nominating petitions for any candidate for any elected office filed with the election agency within the preceding 90 days of the date the request is received;
(2) Petitions to recall an elected official filed with the election agency within the preceding 90 days of the date the request is received;
(3) Petitions or submissions for any public question or referenda to be considered by voters filed with the election agency within the preceding 90 days of the date the request is received;
(4) Any submissions, responses, objections, or challenges filed with the election agency within the preceding 90 days pertaining to a record referred to in this subsection;
(5) Any addendums, amendments, corrections, withdrawals, or accompanying forms or submissions filed with the election agency within the preceding 90 days pertaining to a record referred to in this subsection; and
(6) The inspection and transmission deadline requirements of this subsection shall be deemed satisfied if an election agency posts on its website the records and information referred to in this subsection.
d. Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the following in paragraphs (1) through (4) of this subsection shall be records and information that an election agency shall make available to requestors for immediate access and transmission via email as soon as possible, provided the request pertains only to an election to be held within 16 days after the date of the request and is not for a commercial purpose. The transmission shall be not later than two business days after receipt of the request when said request is made between one and 15 days before the date of the election pertaining to the request. For any request submitted the day before an election by noon, the request shall be completed by noon the day of the election. A fee shall not be charged nor collected. This subsection shall apply to:
(1) Lists, in a format capable of being sorted by the requestor, of registered voters, including their name, address, party affiliation, and municipal voting ward and district, who have requested, been mailed, or returned a vote-by-mail ballot, including the dates the ballot was requested by the voter, mailed to the voter, and received by the appropriate election agency;
(2) Lists, in a format capable of being sorted by the requestor, of registered voters, including their name, address, party affiliation, and municipal voting ward and district, who have cast a vote during the early voting period, including the date and polling location the vote was cast;
(3) The inspection and transmission deadline requirements of this subsection shall be deemed satisfied if an election agency posts on its website the records and information referred to in this subsection; and
(4) Whenever the requirements of this subsection would cause a voter's privacy to be violated, the information shall be provided in a manner that maintains the privacy of the voter.
e. The following records or information shall not be subject to disclosure pursuant to a request for public records:
(1) Ballots marked by a voter, vote tabulations, or election results for any election prior to the time of the closing of the polls on the date of the election, except as otherwise provided for by law, rule, or regulation; and
(2) Manuals instructions, specifications, technical information, or programming code of computers, software, applications, networks, tablets, voting machines, printers, scanners, and any other equipment, systems, policies or plans used for the conduct of elections, the disclosure of which, could have the potential to jeopardize the security, integrity or accuracy of the conduct of elections, tabulation of votes, or determination of election results, except as otherwise provided for by law, rule, or regulation, or in response to a subpoena or order of a court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction.
f. The Secretary of State may adopt regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act, which regulations shall be effective immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law for a period not to exceed 18 months, and may, thereafter, be amended, adopted or readopted in accordance with the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
institute a proceeding to challenge the custodian's decision by filing an action in Superior Court which shall be heard in the vicinage where it is filed by a Superior Court Judge who has been designated to hear such cases because of that judge's knowledge and expertise in matters relating to access to government records; or
in lieu of filing an action in Superior Court, file a complaint with the Government Records Council established pursuant to section 8 of P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-7).
The right to institute any proceeding under this section shall be solely that of the requestor. Any such proceeding shall proceed in a summary or expedited manner. The public agency shall have the burden of proving that the denial of access is authorized by law. If it is determined that access has been improperly denied, the court or Government Records Council shall order that access be allowed. A requestor who prevails in any proceeding may be entitled to a reasonable attorney's fee. While the court or Government Records Council may award a reasonable attorney's fee to a prevailing party in any proceeding, if the public agency has been determined to have unreasonably denied access, acted in bad faith, or knowingly and willfully violated P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), then the court or Government Records Council shall award a reasonable attorney's fee.
If the records sought are produced by the public agency within seven business days of service of an action in Superior Court or a complaint before the Government Records Council, upon notification to the Superior Court or the Government Records Council, the matter shall be dismissed without prejudice and the requestor may be entitled to a reasonable attorney's fee if the custodian knew or should have known that the denial of access violated P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.).
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection, or any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, within 90 days following the enactment date of P.L.2024, c.16 (C.47:1A-5.1 et al.), the Governor shall directly appoint eight public members to the council, each of whom shall serve for a term of three years and until a successor is appointed and qualified, as follows: two from persons recommended by the President of the Senate, no more than one of whom shall be a member of the same political party; two from persons recommended by the Speaker of the General Assembly, no more than one of whom shall be a member of the same political party; and four appointed at the sole discretion of the Governor, no more than two of whom shall be members of the same political party. The terms of office of the members of the council serving on the date of enactment of P.L.2024, c.16 (C.47:1A-5.1 et al.), shall expire upon the Governor's direct appointment of the new members pursuant to this subsection.
(3) A public member shall not hold any other State or local elected office while serving as a member of the council. A public member shall receive a salary equivalent to that provided by law for a public member of the Local Finance Board of the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs. A member may be removed by the Governor for cause. Vacancies among the public members shall be filled by appointment by the Governor, according to the provisions of subsection a. of this section, and for the remainder of the unexpired term. The council may employ an executive director and such professional and clerical staff as it deems necessary and may call upon the Department of Community Affairs for such assistance as it deems necessary and may be available to it.
b. The Government Records Council shall:
establish an informal mediation program to facilitate the resolution of disputes regarding access to government records;
receive, hear, review and adjudicate a complaint filed by any person concerning a denial of access to a government record by a records custodian;
issue advisory opinions, on its own initiative, as to whether a particular type of record is a government record which is accessible to the public;
prepare guidelines and an informational pamphlet for use by records custodians in complying with the law governing access to public records;
prepare an informational pamphlet explaining the public's right of access to government records and the methods for resolving disputes regarding access, which records custodians shall make available to persons requesting access to a government record;
prepare lists for use by records custodians of the types of records in the possession of public agencies which are government records;
make training opportunities available for records custodians and other public officers and employees which explain the law governing access to public records;
promulgate rules and regulations to establish a uniform government record request form for all government record requests permitted for use by any public agency that includes the required form components as set forth in subsection f. of section 6 of P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5). The form shall include certification that a party to a legal proceeding may not request a government record if the record sought is the subject of a court order or a pending discovery request. The council shall make the form available electronically and in print and shall make the form available to incarcerated individuals; and
operate an informational website and a toll-free helpline staffed by knowledgeable employees of the council during regular business hours which shall enable any person, including records custodians, to call for information regarding the law governing access to public records and allow any person to request mediation or to file a complaint with the council when access has been denied.
In implementing the provisions of this section, the council shall: act, to the maximum extent possible, at the convenience of the parties; utilize video conferencing, teleconferencing, faxing of documents, e-mail and similar forms of modern communication; conduct virtual meetings and hearings when practical and at the discretion of the council; and when in-person meetings are necessary, send representatives to meet with the parties at a location convenient to the parties.
The council shall periodically review the information and format of its website and make such adjustments as shall be deemed necessary to ensure that the information is clearly presented, accessible, and useful for the general public. The council shall conduct such an initial review within six months following the effective date of P.L.2024, c.16 (C.47:1A-5.1 et al.).
c. At the request of the council, a public agency shall produce documents and ensure the attendance of witnesses with respect to the council's investigation of any complaint or the holding of any hearing.
d. Upon receipt of a written complaint signed by any person alleging that a custodian of a government record has improperly denied that person access to a government record, the council shall offer the parties the opportunity to resolve the dispute through mediation. Mediation shall enable a person who has been denied access to a government record and the public agency that employs the records custodian who denied or failed to provide access thereto to attempt to mediate the dispute through a process whereby a neutral mediator, who shall be trained in mediation selected by the council, acts to encourage and facilitate the resolution of the dispute. Mediation shall be an informal, nonadversarial process having the objective of helping the parties reach a mutually acceptable, voluntary agreement. The mediator shall assist the parties in identifying issues, foster joint problem solving, and explore settlement alternatives.
e. If any party declines mediation or if mediation fails to resolve the matter to the satisfaction of all parties, the council shall initiate an investigation concerning the facts and circumstances set forth in the complaint. The council shall make a determination as to whether the complaint is within its jurisdiction or frivolous or without any reasonable factual basis. The council may assign staff attorneys to conduct the investigation, present findings, and make recommendations to the council. If the council shall conclude that the complaint is outside its jurisdiction, frivolous, or without factual basis, it shall reduce that conclusion to writing and transmit a copy thereof to the complainant and to the public agency that employs the records custodian against whom the complaint was filed. Otherwise, the council shall notify the public agency that employs the records custodian against whom the complaint was filed of the nature of the complaint and the facts and circumstances set forth therein.
The public agency that employs the records custodian shall have the opportunity to present the board with any statement or information concerning the complaint which the agency wishes. If the council is able to make a determination as to a record's accessibility based upon the complaint and the agency's response thereto, it shall reduce that conclusion to writing and transmit a copy thereof to the complainant and to the public agency that employs the records custodian against whom the complaint was filed. If the council is unable to make a determination as to a record's accessibility based upon the complaint and the agency's response thereto, the council shall conduct a hearing on the matter in conformity with the rules and regulations provided for hearings by a State agency in contested cases under the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), insofar as they may be applicable and practicable.
The council shall, by a majority vote of its members, render a decision as to whether the record which is the subject of the complaint is a government record which must be made available for public access pursuant to P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) as amended and supplemented. If the council determines, by a majority vote of its members, that a custodian is found to have knowingly and willfully violated P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), as amended and supplemented, and to have unreasonably denied access under the totality of the circumstances, the council may impose the penalties provided for in section 12 of P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-11) on the public agency that employs the custodian.
A decision of the council may be appealed to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court. Such appeals shall be filed within 45 days from the date the council renders a decision. A decision of the council shall not have value as a precedent for any case initiated in Superior Court pursuant to section 7 of P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-6). All proceedings of the council pursuant to this subsection shall be conducted as expeditiously as possible.
Beginning 18 months following the effective date of P.L.2024, c.16 (C.47:1A-5.1 et al.), the council shall adjudicate all complaints that come before it within 90 days of the complaint's filing, with the ability to extend for 45 days for good cause, exclusive of any time period during which the parties are engaged in a mediation process pursuant to this section. The council shall make such organizational adjustments and modify its procedures as it deems necessary to ensure that complaints are adjudicated in such a timeframe.
f. The council shall not charge any party a fee in regard to actions filed with the council. The council shall be subject to the provisions of the "Open Public Meetings Act," P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-6), except that the council may go into closed session during that portion of any proceeding during which the contents of a contested record would be disclosed. A requestor who prevails in any proceeding may be entitled to a reasonable attorney's fee as provided for in section 7 of P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-6).
g. The council shall not have jurisdiction over the Judicial or Legislative Branches of State Government or any agency, officer, or employee of those branches.
h. The Superior Court shall provide the Government Records Council a list of all actions which have been brought before the courts filed pursuant to P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), commonly known as the open public records act, which have been settled by the parties thereto. Such a list shall provide the docket number and names of the parties to the action. The council shall compile a database comprised of the data provided by the Superior Court.
The Administrative Office of the Courts, on behalf of the Superior Court of New Jersey, shall provide the Government Records Council a report at the end of each court year of all cases filed pursuant to P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.). The report shall be grouped by defendant and county filed in and shall include a comprehensive list of all cases filed with a summary judgment regarding P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), Statewide, itemized by the following factors:
(1) Case caption;
(2) County of venue;
(3) Docket number;
(4) Counsel of records;
(5) Case disposition; and
(6) Attorney's fees requested and awarded.
b. The parties to any complaint or appeal pending before the Government Records Council, the Superior Court or the Supreme Court of New Jersey filed prior to the effective date of P.L.2024, c.16 (C.47:1A-5.1 et al.), shall be permitted to file an amendment to their respective complaints and answers within 90 days of the effective date of P.L.2024, c.16 (C.47:1A-5.1 et al.).
b. The provisions of this act, P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5 et al.), shall not abrogate or erode any executive or legislative privilege or grant of confidentiality heretofore established or recognized by the Constitution of this State, statute, court rule or judicial case law, which privilege or grant of confidentiality may duly be claimed to restrict public access to a public record or government record.
an individual's name, title, position, salary, payroll record, length of service, date of separation and the reason therefor, and the amount and type of any pension received shall be a government record;
personnel or pension records of any individual shall be accessible when required to be disclosed by another law, when disclosure is essential to the performance of official duties of a person duly authorized by this State or the United States, or when authorized by an individual in interest; and
data contained in information which disclose conformity with specific experiential, educational or medical qualifications required for government employment or for receipt of a public pension, but not including any detailed medical or psychological information, shall be a government record.
b. A requestor who is found to have intentionally failed to certify that a records request is for a commercial purpose shall be subject to a civil penalty of $1,000 for the first offense, $2,500 for the second offense, and $5,000 for each subsequent offense. The penalties may be imposed by the courts.
c. These penalties shall be collected and enforced in proceedings in accordance with the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.), and the rules of court governing actions for the collection of civil penalties. The Superior Court shall have jurisdiction of proceedings for the collection and enforcement of the penalty imposed by this section.
d. Appropriate disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against a public official, officer, employee or custodian against whom a penalty has been imposed.
"Authorized person" means a covered person or any of the following persons hereby authorized to submit or revoke a request for the redaction or nondisclosure of a home address on behalf of a covered person:
(1) on behalf of any federal judge, a designee of the United States Marshals Service or of the clerk of any United States District Court, provided that the designee submits the affirmation required under subsection d. of section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2) signed by each federal judge for whom a request or revocation is made;
(2) on behalf of any covered person who is deceased or medically or psychologically incapacitated, a person acting on behalf of the covered person as a designated trustee, as an estate executor, or pursuant to a written power of attorney or other legal instrument, provided that the person signs and submits the affirmation required under subsection d. of section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2) in the stead of the covered person; and
(3) on behalf of any immediate family member who is a minor and who is otherwise entitled to address redaction or nondisclosure pursuant to this act, the parent or legal guardian thereof.
"Covered person" means an active, formerly active, or retired judicial officer, law enforcement officer, or child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, as those terms are defined by section 1 of P.L.1995, c.23 (C.47:1A-1.1), or prosecutor, and any immediate family member residing in the same household as the judicial officer, law enforcement officer, child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, or prosecutor.
"Immediate family member" means a spouse, child, or parent of, or any other family member related by blood or by law to, an active, formerly active, or retired judicial officer, law enforcement officer, or child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, as defined by section 1 of P.L.1995, c.23 (C.47:1A-1.1), or prosecutor and who resides in the same household as the judicial officer, law enforcement officer, child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, or prosecutor.
b. There is established in the Department of Community Affairs an office to be known as the Office of Information Privacy. The office shall be led by a director, who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Commissioner of Community Affairs and who may hire staff as necessary.
c. The director shall establish:
(1) a secure portal through which an authorized person may submit or revoke a request for the redaction or nondisclosure of a covered person's home address from certain records and Internet postings, as provided in section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2); and such requests shall not be subject to disclosure under P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.);
(2) a process by which an authorized person may petition the director for reconsideration of a denial of such request or any revocations thereof;
(3) a process by which a person or entity may request receipt of a record that does not contain redactions, or of information that is not disclosable, resulting from subsection a. of section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2); and
(4) a process for the evaluation of any other exceptions to the requirement for redaction or nondisclosure pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2), whether categorical or individualized. The director may grant an exception to any person or entity for the receipt of the unredacted records or information pursuant to this process.
d. The director shall evaluate and either approve or deny a request submitted pursuant to subsection c. of this section and any revocations thereof.
e. (1) The director may enter into any agreement or contract necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
(2) The director may issue any guidance, guidelines, decisions, or rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act. The rules and regulations shall be effective immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law for a period not to exceed 18 months, and shall, thereafter, be amended, adopted, or readopted in accordance with the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
b. (1) A public agency shall redact or cease to disclose, in accordance with section 6 of P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5) and section 1 of P.L.1995, c.23 (C.47:1A-1.1), respectively, the home address of a covered person approved by the Office of Information Privacy not later than 30 days following the approval. A public agency shall also discontinue the redaction or nondisclosure of the home address of any covered person for whom a revocation request has been approved not later than 30 days following the approval.
(2) A custodian of a public agency who makes a reasonable effort to comply with this subsection shall be presumed to have acted without willful, purposeful, or reckless disregard of the law.
c. An immediate family member who has sought and received approval under subsection a. of this section and who no longer resides with the active, formerly active, or retired judicial officer, law enforcement officer, child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, or prosecutor shall submit through the portal a revocation request not later than 30 days from the date on which the immediate family member no longer resided with the judicial officer, law enforcement officer, child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, or prosecutor.
d. A person submitting a request pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall affirm in writing that the person understands that certain rights, duties, and obligations are affected as a result of the request, including:
(1) the receipt of certain notices from non-governmental entities as would otherwise be required pursuant to the "Municipal Land Use Law," P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.);
(2) the signing of petitions related to the nomination or election of a candidate to public office or related to any public question;
(3) the eligibility or requirements related to seeking or accepting the nomination for election or election to public office, or the appointment to any public position;
(4) the sale or purchase of a home or other property, recordation of a judgment, lien or other encumbrance on real or other property, and any relief granted based thereon;
(5) the ability to be notified of any class action suit or settlement; and
(6) any other legal, promotional, or official notice which would otherwise be provided to the person but for the redaction or nondisclosure of such person's home address pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
(1) Copies of voter registration files maintained in the Statewide voter registration system pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2005, c.145 (C.19:31-32) and maintained by the commissioner of registration in each county pursuant to R.S.19:31-3 shall be provided as redacted pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2), except that copies of the files as unredacted pursuant thereto shall be provided to the following individuals, upon the individual's signing of an affidavit attesting to the individual's qualifying status pursuant hereto:
(a) the chairperson of the county or municipal committee of a political party, as appropriate under R.S.19:7-1, or a designee thereof, for distribution to any person authorized to serve as a challenger pursuant to R.S.19:7-1 or section 2 of P.L.2021, c.40 (C.19:15A-2), subject to the limitations in section 1 of P.L.1960, c.82 (C.19:7-6.1); and the unredacted copies may only be used for the purpose specified in R.S.19:7-5;
(b) a candidate, or a designee thereof, for distribution to a challenger appointed thereby pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2021, c.40 (C.19:15A-2) for the person's use in accordance with R.S.19:7-5;
(c) a candidate acting as a challenger pursuant to R.S.19:7-2 or the other person appointed thereunder, for use in accordance with R.S.19:7-5;
(d) any vendor, contractor, or organization carrying out a function of a county or of the State concerning the administration or conduct of elections; and
(e) upon order of a judge of the Superior Court after a finding that the unredacted copy is necessary to determine the merits of a petition filed in accordance with R.S.19:29-3, a person filing such petition or the respondent or both.
This paragraph shall apply to registry lists as described in section 2 of P.L.1947, c.347 (C.19:31-18.1).
(2) Other than as provided in subparagraphs (d) and (e) of paragraph (4) of this subsection, a document affecting the title to real property, as defined by N.J.S.46:26A-2, recorded and indexed by a county recording officer, or as otherwise held or maintained by the Division of Taxation, a county board of taxation, a county tax administrator, or a county or municipal tax assessor, that contains an address subject to redaction or nondisclosure consistent with this act, P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-1 et al.):
may instead or in addition include the redaction and nondisclosure of the names or other information of approved covered persons, as specified by the Director of the Division of Taxation, which redaction and nondisclosure may include masking of such names or other information, and
shall be provided as unredacted to the following persons when requested in such person's ordinary course of business:
(a) a title insurance company, a title insurance agent, or an approved attorney, as defined in section 1 of P.L.1975, c.106 (C.17:46B-1);
(b) a mortgage guarantee insurance company, as described in section 4 of P.L.1968, c.248 (C.17:46A-4);
(c) a mortgage loan originator, as defined in section 3 of P.L.2009, c.53 (C.17:11C-53);
(d) a registered title search business entity, as defined in section 4 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.17:46B-1.1);
(e) a real estate broker, a real estate salesperson, a real estate broker-salesperson, a real estate salesperson licensed with a real estate referral company, or a real estate referral company, as such terms are defined in R.S.45:15-3; and
(f) an individual or business that has made or received an offer for the purchase of real estate and real property, or any portion thereof, to or from a covered person whose address is subject to redaction or nondisclosure pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2).
This act shall not be construed to prohibit a county recording officer from returning a document as unredacted to any person who submitted the document for recordation.
(3) A home address as unredacted may be provided by a public agency to the majority representative of such agency's employees.
(4) The following shall not be subject to redaction or nondisclosure pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2):
(a) records and documents, including Uniform Commercial Code filings and financing statements, maintained by the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services in the Department of the Treasury;
(b) petitions naming candidates for office pursuant to R.S.19:13-1 and R.S.19:13-4;
(c) petitions signed in accordance with R.S.19:13-6;
(d) records evidencing any lien, judgement, or other encumbrance upon real or other property;
(e) assessment lists subject to inspection pursuant to R.S.54:4-38 when inspected in person;
(f) the index of all recorded documents maintained by a county recording officer as under N.J.S.46:26A-8 when inspected in person; and
(g) property that is presumed abandoned under the "Uniform Unclaimed Property Act," P.L.1989, c.58 (C.46:30B-1 et seq.).
(5) A public agency may share unredacted information with any vendor, contractor, or organization to carry out the purposes for which the public agency entered into an agreement with the vendor, contractor, or organization. The vendor, contractor, or organization shall not use such information in any manner other than as necessary to carry out the purposes of the agreement.
(6) For a record or other document containing a home address required to be redacted pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2) that, because of the characteristics or properties of the record or document, is only available to be viewed in person, a custodian or other government official shall make every reasonable effort to hide such address when allowing an individual without authority to view such address as unredacted to view the record or document.
(7) For the purposes of the calculation of property tax benefits and the administration of property tax credits for eligible claimants pursuant to the "Stay NJ Act," P.L.2021, c.75 (C.54:4-8.75a et al.), municipalities may share unredacted property tax information with the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, and the director may provide to municipalities unredacted amounts of property tax credits to be applied against property tax bills of eligible claimants.
b. Nothing in this act shall be construed to require redaction or nondisclosure of any information in any document, record, information, or database shared with or otherwise provided to any other government entity.
c. Information otherwise subject to redaction or nondisclosure pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2) may be provided as unredacted upon order of a judge of the Superior Court or of any other court of competent jurisdiction.
d. This section shall not be construed to require a record to be made available that is not otherwise required to be made available under any other law or regulation.
e. The Director of the Division of Taxation may issue any guidance, guidelines, or rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section. The rules and regulations shall be effective immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law for a period not to exceed 18 months, and shall, thereafter, be amended, adopted, or readopted in accordance with the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
The public record office shall have general and exclusive supervision, care, custody and control of all public records, books, pamphlets, documents, manuscripts, archives, maps and papers of any public office, body, board, institution or society which has or may become extinct, unless the care, custody and control of the same is otherwise provided for by law.
The public record office, through its director, shall examine into the condition of the records, books, pamphlets, documents, manuscripts, archives, maps and papers, now or hereafter kept, filed or recorded in the several public offices of every county or municipality, or required by law to be kept by any public body, board, institution or society created under any law of the state in any county or municipality.
Any public official may prescribe such system of indexing, and establish such rules and regulations concerning the care and preservation of such records as to him shall seem proper in any department of which he is in charge.
The public record office shall take such action as may be necessary to put the records it shall examine pursuant to section 47:2-4 of this title, or over which it shall obtain control pursuant to section 47:2-3 of this title, into the custody and condition contemplated by the various laws relating thereto, and shall provide for their restoration and preservation. The public record office shall cause copies of such records to be made whenever, by reason of age, use, exposure or any casualty, it shall be deemed necessary.
Whenever a copy of any record is made in accordance with the provisions of section 47:2-5 of this title, and after it has been compared with the original, it shall be certified by the public official or board having the legal custody and control of the original. Thereafter, the copy shall be considered and accepted as evidence, and treated for all other purposes, as though it were the original.
The original shall be cared for and preserved, as if no copy had been made, for such examination as may be directed by an order of court in any action or proceeding in which the accuracy of the copy is questioned.
The officers of any state department, or of any county or municipality, or of any institution or society created under any law of this state, may transfer to the public record office public records or other records, books, papers, documents, archives, maps or plans which are not in general use, and the record office shall receive the same when so transferred and shall provide for the custody and preservation thereof.
The public record office may acquire, preserve, classify and collate official records, letters and other material bearing upon the history of the government and the people of New Jersey, or transcripts of such records and papers whenever the board of commissioners cannot or may not desire to acquire the originals thereof.
Every certified duplicate copy of a report of audit filed with the director of the Division of Local Government in the Department of the Treasury, pursuant to section 40:4-8 of the Revised Statutes, shall be retained in the files of the said director for a ten-year period, following which it shall be destroyed except as otherwise herein provided. At the conclusion of the ten-year period the director shall notify the clerk of the board of chosen freeholders or the clerk of the municipality, as the case may be, in writing that the said duplicate copy is subject to destruction, unless the county or municipality desires the same for its permanent files, in which case the director shall deliver the same to the clerk of the board of chosen freeholders or the clerk of the municipality, and shall secure therefor a written receipt. In case any county or municipality does not desire to receive such duplicate copy, or fails to advise the director within ninety days after the receipt of the said written notice, the said director shall notify the head of the archives and history bureau of the Department of Education that unless said bureau desires to receive said duplicate copy it will be destroyed.
The said director is authorized to destroy all copies of reports of audits for the years one thousand nine hundred and eighteen to one thousand nine hundred and forty, inclusive, remaining in his possession after opportunity to receive the same is afforded to counties, municipalities and the archives and history bureau of the Department of Education in a similar manner as provided in section one hereof.
The following may be removed and destroyed pursuant to the provisions of this act:
(a) Admissions to the bar, notices of intention to apply for admissions, after one year;
(b) Appeals, notices from local criminal courts, and other papers incidental thereto, where the appeals were not heard and disposed of by specific court action, after five years;
(c) Bills of sale upon condition and other papers in the nature of conditional bills of sale, after six years; provided their expiration dates occurred prior to the six years; and further provided, if their expiration dates shall have been extended by the acts of the parties and notice of the acts shall have been given to the county recording officer, then after six years from their expiration dates as so extended; and further provided, that bills of sale under seal, after twenty-two years instead of after six years;
(d) Bonds given as bail and recognizances in connection with or in lieu of bail, and discharges of the same, after six years; provided notations thereof have been entered on the dockets;
(e) Bonds under orders of filiation, after twenty years;
(f) Certificates of authority filed by insurance and bonding companies, after six years;
(g) Chattel mortgages, after six years; provided their expiration dates occurred prior to the six years; and further provided, if their expiration dates shall have been extended by the acts of the parties and notice of the acts shall have been given to the county recording officer, then after six years from their expiration dates as so extended; and further provided, that chattel mortgages under seal, after twenty-two years instead of after six years;
(h) Contracts, plans, and specifications for the construction of buildings and other structures except for public buildings, after ten years;
(i) Convictions of disorderly persons, after five years;
(j) Costs, bills of costs taxed by the clerk, both civil and criminal, after twenty years; provided notations thereof have been entered on the dockets;
(k) Depositions, which are not within the scope of any applicable court rule and which do not pertain to any pending court action or proceeding, after ten years;
(l) Delinquent municipal tax returns for real and personal property and discharges therefor, after twenty years;
(m) Elections returns, certificates of, and all other papers relating to elections, including primary petitions, returns for primary and general elections, and statements of candidates' campaign managers and treasurers, after five years;
(n) Executions returned by the sheriff, both satisfied and unsatisfied, after twenty years; provided notations thereof have been entered on the dockets;
(o) Extradition papers including applications for writs of habeas corpus, except judgments thereon, after five years;
(p) Indictments, accusations, informations, and complaints in the nature thereof, if nolle prossed, or if the defendant charged thereby has been convicted or acquitted, or if the court has otherwise disposed of the same, after five years;
(q) Inquests conducted by the coroners, and their reports, and other papers relating to sudden deaths, after ten years;
(r) Insolvency proceedings, assignments for the benefit of creditors, inventories in the proceedings, discharges of insolvents, and other papers relating or incidental to insolvency proceedings, after twenty years;
(s) Institutions and agencies, commitments other than in criminal or mental incapacity cases, reports, and other papers relating to institutions and agencies, after thirty years;
(t) Judgment transcripts for docketing, after twenty years; provided notations thereof have been entered on the dockets;
(u) Judgments, satisfactions and discharges, and releases of judgments, after twenty years; provided notations thereof have been entered on the dockets;
(v) Juries, lists of Grand and petit juries, and other papers relating to summoning, impaneling, and the charging of the juries, after five years;
(w) Justices of the peace bonds, dockets, files, and papers, after twenty years;
(x) Licenses for hunting, including applications, after two years;
(y) Lien notices and claims other than mechanics' lien claims, and other than lien notices or notices in the nature of lien notices filed by any State, county, or municipal agency, after six years;
(z) Lists of causes for trial calendars, including notices of trial, after one year;
(aa) Proceedings for commitments to psychiatric institutions, including medical and other reports relating thereto, after thirty years;
(bb) Mechanics' lien and construction lien claims, notices of intention, notices of unpaid balance and right to file lien, stop notices, and all papers relating to mechanics' lien and construction lien claims, other than proceedings and actions in the courts brought to enforce the lien claims, after six years;
(cc) Notary public certificates and qualifying papers, after five years;
(dd) Notices and other papers, authorized or required by law to be filed but not recorded and not involving title to real or personal property or to proceedings or actions in any court, after ten years;
(ee) Oaths of office of persons whose incumbency in office has ceased, after five years; provided the term of office of the person expired prior to the five years;
(ff) Permits to carry firearms which have expired, including the applications therefor, after two years;
(gg) Prison records and reports and papers relating thereto, after five years;
(hh) Probation reports and papers relating thereto, after five years;
(ii) Referees' reports, not forming a part of the record of a proceeding or action in court, after six years;
The several periods of time shall be computed from the date of the filing of the papers.
The county clerk and the register of deeds and mortgages may retain on file any of the papers as a part of the permanent records of the office.
The Superior Court assignment judge or the county judge, of the county, may order the retention of specific papers included in any of the aforedescribed papers and direct that such specific papers be retained by the county clerk or register of deeds and mortgages, as the case may be, as a part of the permanent records of the county.
This act shall take effect July first, one thousand nine hundred and fifty-three.
Whenever any papers have been on file for more than twenty-five years in the office of any county clerk, pertaining to the former court of oyer and terminer, circuit court, court of common pleas, court of quarter sessions, court of special sessions, and county court of said county, and form no part of the record of an enforceable judgment, the Superior Court Assignment Judge of the county, wherein such papers are on file, may order and direct the clerk of the county to remove or destroy such papers or otherwise effectively obliterate the records therein.
This act shall take effect July first, one thousand nine hundred and fifty-three.
This act shall be known and cited as "Destruction of Public Records Law (1953)."
As used in this act the word "bureau" means the Bureau of Archives and History in the Department of Education.
No person shall destroy, sell or otherwise dispose of any public record, archives or printed public documents which are under his control or in his care or custody, whether or not they are in current use, without first having advised the Bureau of Archives and History in the Department of Education of their nature, and obtained the written consent of that bureau; which consent may be given by said bureau only if the same is in conformance with regulations governing the granting thereof which shall be made and promulgated by the State Records Committee established by section six of this act.
The bureau may from time to time establish specific classifications and categories for various types of the said "public records" and, in giving its consent as provided herein, may do so in a general and continuing manner according to the said classifications and categories.
The bureau, in co-operation with the several State departments, commissions and agencies, shall make a study of the kind and character of public records in their control or custody and shall prepare proposed schedules for submission to the State Records Committee established by section six hereof for its approval and advise the said several departments, commissions and agencies of all applicable operative schedules.
No such schedule shall be operative unless approved by the State Records Committee which is hereby established in the State Department of Education and which shall consist of the State Treasurer, the Attorney-General, the State Auditor, the Director of the Division of Local Government in the Department of the Treasury, and the head of the Bureau of Archives and History in the Department of Education. Each member of the committee may designate in writing a representative to act in his place on said committee.
The State Records Committee shall have the powers and duties prescribed for it herein and shall make and promulgate such regulations, not inconsistent with law, as may be necessary to adequately effectuate such powers and duties.
Whenever any such schedule is approved by the committee, a copy thereof shall be filed with the State department, commission or agency involved and with the State Auditor, and the original approval shall be retained by the Bureau of Archives and History in the Department of Education. Thereupon, such schedule shall remain in force and effect and may be acted upon by the said department, commission or agency until superseded by a subsequent duly approved schedule.
No State official, or head of a State department, commission or other agency shall be held liable on his official bond, or in the way of damages for loss, or in any other manner, civil or criminal, because of the destruction of public records pursuant to the provisions of this act or any other law authorizing such destruction.
Whenever, under the laws of this State, there shall have been issued and sold by the State or by any municipality, county, or school district, bonds, coupons, or other evidences of indebtedness and such bonds, coupons and other evidences of indebtedness shall have been cancelled and redeemed by the State Treasurer, the State House Commission, or by any agency or authorized official of the State, or by any municipality, county, or school district issuing the same, it shall be lawful for the official or officials in charge of the issuance, redemption and cancellation of such bonds, coupons or other evidences of indebtedness to destroy the same upon the written consent of the bureau, subject to regulations which shall be made and promulgated by the State Records Committee established by section six hereof.
The said officials, in the same manner, may destroy any bonds, coupons or other evidences of indebtedness which have been printed and which remain unused, or any registered bonds which remain unused at the time the issue has completely matured.
The bureau, subject to regulations which shall be made and promulgated by the State Records Committee established by section six hereof, may give its consent to the immediate destruction or other disposition of bonds, coupons or other evidences of indebtedness which have not been used, but shall not consent to the destruction or other disposition of temporary bonds unless they have been replaced by definitive bonds, and then, only after the expiration of a year from the date of such replacement, or to the destruction or other disposition of bonds, coupons or other evidences of indebtedness which have been issued, except after the expiration of a period of seven years from their cancellation or maturity dates.
Whenever bonds, coupons or other evidences of indebtedness are destroyed or otherwise disposed of under the provisions of this section, a certificate of destruction shall be prepared by the official having charge of such destruction or other disposition, setting forth the dates of issuances, the series and serial numbers and the face amounts of such bonds, coupons or other evidences of indebtedness.
Where the said certificates relate to State issues, they shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State and where they relate to county or municipal issues, they shall be filed in the office of the chief financial officer of the county or municipality, as the case may be. Any such certificate or certified copy thereof shall be receivable in evidence in any court or proceeding as prima facie evidence of the destruction of such bonds, coupons or other evidences of indebtedness.
Whenever any officer, commission, agency or authority of the State or of any political subdivision thereof, including subordinate boards thereof, shall have photographed, microphotographed, microfilmed, data processed or image processed all or any part of the public records, kept or required by law to be received and indexed in such manner as to conform with the standards, procedures and rules, and such photographs, microphotographs, microfilms, or data processed or image processed documents have been placed in conveniently accessible files and provision shall have been made for the preservation, examination and use of the same in conformity with the said standards and procedures, the original records from which the photographs, microphotographs, microfilms, or data processed or image processed documents have been made, or any part thereof, may be destroyed or the records therein otherwise effectively obliterated; provided, the said bureau shall first have given its written consent to such destruction or other disposition.
In the event of any such destruction or other disposition of any public records under the provisions of this section, the photograph, microphotograph, microfilm, or data processed or image processed document or a certified copy of said photograph, microphotograph, microfilm, or data processed or image processed document shall be receivable in evidence in any court or proceeding and shall have the same force and effect as though the original public record had been there produced and proved.
The bureau is empowered to demand and receive from any person any public record in private possession belonging to this State, or to any county, municipality or school district thereof.
Any person who is entitled by law to the custody of public records shall demand the same from any person in whose possession they may be, and such records forthwith shall be delivered to the officer charged by law with their custody.
Any person who, without the consent of the person authorized to have custody thereof, removes an official record or paper from the files of any public agency or body, or who alters any map, plat, or other paper signed and approved by a public official without permission, or who alters, defaces, mutilates or destroys with malicious intent any public record shall be guilty of a high misdemeanor.
The bureau shall, with the approval of the State Records Committee established by section six hereof, make and promulgate rules and regulations for the effective administration of the laws relating the public records.
Sections 47:3-1 to 47:3-6 of the Revised Statutes and "An act concerning the destruction of cancelled and redeemed acknowledgments of indebtedness, commonly known as "scrip,' which have been issued and sold by any municipality or county, and supplementing chapter three of Title 47 of the Revised Statutes," approved June fourteenth, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-eight, are repealed.
In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions of this act and the provisions of "An act concerning certain papers and records on file in the offices of the county clerks and registers of deeds and mortgages, and supplementing chapter three of Title 47 of the Revised Statutes," approved July twenty-fifth, one thousand nine hundred and fifty-three (P.L.1953, c. 269) or of "An act concerning the destruction or other disposition of certain papers on file in the offices of the county clerks, pertaining to the former courts of oyer and terminer, circuit courts, courts of common pleas, courts of quarter sessions and courts of special sessions," approved July twenty-fifth, one thousand nine hundred and fifty-three (P.L.1953, c. 270), the provisions of such other act shall prevail.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Address Confidentiality Program Act."
The Legislature finds that persons attempting to escape from actual or threatened domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault, and reproductive health service patients and providers may establish new addresses to prevent their assailants or other individuals from finding them. The purpose of this act is to enable public agencies to respond to requests for public records without disclosing the location of a victim of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault, or reproductive health service patients and providers, to enable interagency cooperation with the Director of the Division on Women in the Department of Children and Families in providing address confidentiality for victims of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault, and reproductive health service patients and providers, and to enable public agencies to accept a program participant's use of an address designated by the director as a substitute mailing address.
As used in this act:
"Address" means a residential street address, school address, or work address of a qualified person, as specified on the qualified person's application to be a program participant under this act.
"Division" means the Division on Women in the Department of Children and Families.
"Director" means the Director of the Division on Women in the Department of Children and Families.
"Domestic violence" means an act defined in section 3 of P.L.1991, c.261 (C.2C:25-19), if the act has been reported to a law enforcement agency or court.
"Qualified person" means a reproductive health service patient or provider, a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or a family member of any such person.
"Program participant" means a qualified person certified by the director as eligible to participate in the Address Confidentiality Program established by this act.
"Reproductive health service provider" means a hospital, clinic, physician's office, or other facility that provides reproductive health services, including an employee, a volunteer, or a contractor of the provider.
"Reproductive health services" means medical, surgical, counseling, or referral services relating to the human reproductive system, including services relating to pregnancy or the termination of a pregnancy.
"Sexual assault" means an act of sexual assault as defined in N.J.S.2C:14-2, if the act has been reported to a law enforcement agency or court.
"Stalking" means an act defined in section 1 of P.L.1992, c.209 (C.2C:12-10), if the act has been reported to a law enforcement agency or court.
a. There is created in the division a program to be known as the "Address Confidentiality Program." A qualified person 18 years of age or over, a parent or guardian acting on behalf of a minor, or a guardian acting on behalf of an incapacitated qualified person may apply to the director to have an address designated by the director as the applicant's address. The director shall approve an application if it is filed in the manner and on the form prescribed by the director and if it contains:
(1) a sworn statement by the applicant that the applicant has good reason to believe:
(a) that the applicant is a qualified person as defined in this act or the applicant has applied for an order pursuant to P.L.2015, c.147 (C.2C:14-13 et al.); and
(b) that the applicant fears further violent acts from the applicant's assailant or violent acts from other individuals;
(2) a designation of the director as agent for the purpose of receiving process and for the purpose of receipt of mail;
(3) the mailing address where the applicant can be contacted by the director, and a telephone number where the applicant can be called;
(4) the new address or addresses that the applicant requests not be disclosed because of the increased risk of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, or other violence; and
(5) the signature of the applicant and any person who assisted in the preparation of the application, and the date.
b. An application shall be filed with the director.
c. Upon approving a completed application, the director shall certify the applicant as a program participant. An applicant shall be certified for four years following the date of filing unless the certification is withdrawn or invalidated before that date.
d. A program participant may apply to be recertified every four years thereafter.
e. A program participant may use the address designated by the director as his or her work address.
f. Upon receipt of first class mail addressed to a program participant, the director or a designee shall forward the mail to the actual address of the participant. The director may arrange to receive and forward other kinds and classes of mail for any program participant at the participant's expense. The actual address of a program participant shall be available only to the director and to those employees involved in the operation of the address confidentiality program and to law enforcement officers for law enforcement purposes.
g. The director, in accordance with the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.
The director may cancel a program participant's certification if:
(1) the program participant obtains a name change through an order of the court;
(2) the program participant changes the participant's residential address and does not provide seven days' advance notice to the director;
(3) mail forwarded by the director to the address or addresses provided by the program participant is returned as undeliverable; or
(4) any information on the application is false.
The application form shall notify each applicant of the provisions of this section.
A program participant may request that any State or local agency use the address designated by the director as the program participant's address. The agency shall accept the address designated by the director as a program participant's address, unless the agency has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the director that:
(1) the agency has a bona fide statutory basis for requiring the program participant to disclose to it the actual location of the program participant; and
(2) the disclosed confidential address of the program participant will be used only for that statutory purpose and will not be disclosed or made available in any way to any other person or agency.
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