New Jersey § 47:1a-1

§ 47:1a-1.

As used in P.L.1963, c. 73 ( C.47:1A-1 et seq. ) as amended and supplemented: “ 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. “ 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. 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: when used in a criminal action or proceeding in this State which relates to the death

of that person, for the use as a court of this State permits, by order after good cause has been shown

and after written notification of the request for the court order has been served

at least five days before the order is made upon the county prosecutor for the county

in which the post mortem examination or autopsy occurred, for use in the field of forensic pathology or for use in medical or scientific education

or research, 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. For the purposes of this paragraph, personal identifying information 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 or licensee; trade secrets and proprietary commercial or financial information obtained from any

source. For the purposes of this paragraph, trade secrets shall include data processing software

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, software and

networks which, if disclosed, would jeopardize computer security; 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; information which, if disclosed, would give an advantage to competitors or bidders; 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, unlisted 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 ); 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; 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 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). 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. “ 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,

phone 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.