New Jersey § 47:1a-5

§ 47:1a-5.

a. The custodian of a government record shall permit the record to be inspected, examined,

and copied by any person during regular business hours; or in the case of a municipality

having a population of 5,000 or fewer according to the most recent federal decennial

census, a board of education having a total district enrollment of 500 or fewer, or

a public authority having less than $10 million in assets, during not less than six

regular business hours over not less than three business days per week or the entity's

regularly-scheduled business hours, whichever is less; unless a government record

is exempt from public 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. Prior to allowing access to any government record, the custodian thereof shall redact

from that record any information 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 ), the home address, whether a primary or secondary residence, of any active, formerly

active, or retired judicial officer, prosecutor, law enforcement officer, or child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, 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. Except where an agency can demonstrate an emergent need, a regulation that limits

access to government records shall not be retroactive in effect or applied to deny

a request for access to a government record that is pending before the agency, the

council or a court at the time of the adoption of the regulation. 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. If a public agency can demonstrate that its actual costs for duplication of a government

record exceed the foregoing rates, the public agency shall be permitted to charge

the actual cost of duplicating the record. The actual cost of duplicating the record, upon which all copy fees are based, shall

be the cost of materials and supplies used to make a copy of the record, but shall

not include the cost of labor or other overhead expenses associated with making the

copy except as provided for in subsection c. of this section. 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. (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 reasonable and shall be based upon the actual direct cost of providing the copy

or copies; provided, however, that in the case of a municipality, rates for the duplication

of particular records when the actual cost of copying exceeds the foregoing rates

shall be established in advance by ordinance. The requestor shall have the opportunity to review and object to the charge prior

to it being incurred. d. A custodian shall permit access to a government record and provide a copy thereof

in the medium requested if the public agency maintains the record in that medium.

If the public agency does not maintain the record in the medium requested, the custodian

shall either convert the record to the medium requested or provide a copy in some

other meaningful medium. If a request is for a record: (1) in a medium not routinely used by the agency; (2)

not routinely developed or maintained by an agency; or (3) requiring a substantial

amount of manipulation or programming of information technology, the agency may charge,

in addition to the actual cost of duplication, a special charge 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. 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. f. The custodian of a public agency shall adopt a form 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, and phone number of the requestor

and a brief description of the government record sought. 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 an anonymous request whenever the custodian anticipates that the information

thus requested will cost in excess of $5 to reproduce. 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 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 the government record requested is temporarily unavailable because it is in use

or in storage, the custodian shall so advise the requestor and shall make arrangements

to promptly make available a copy 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 attempting to reach

a reasonable solution with the requestor that accommodates the interests of the requestor

and the agency. 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. 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, provided that the

record is currently available and not in storage or archived. In the event a custodian fails to respond within seven business days after receiving

a request, the failure to respond shall be deemed a denial of the request, unless

the requestor has elected not to provide a name, address or telephone number, or other

means of contacting the requestor. If the requestor has elected not to provide a name, address, or telephone number,

or other means of contacting the requestor, the custodian shall not be required to

respond until the requestor reappears before 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 business days after the custodian receives the request. The requestor shall be advised by the custodian when the record can be made available.

If the record is not made available by that time, access shall be deemed denied. (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 as soon as possible thereafter. j. A custodian shall post prominently in public view in the part or parts of the office

or offices of the custodian that are open to or frequented by the public a statement

that sets forth in clear, concise and specific terms the right to appeal a denial

of, or failure to provide, access to a government record by any person for inspection,

examination, or copying or for purchase of copies thereof and the procedure by which

an appeal may be filed. 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.