Correspondence relating to the Sussex County Education Association
Dear Assembly Republican Office,
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-6(f), which states that 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.
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.
Records requested:
Correspondence relating to the Sussex County Education Association
My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request. If you are not the custodian of records, please forward my request to that person and provide their email address to me for future reference.
Yours faithfully,
Strawberry Shortcake
Dear Assembly Republican Office,
I have not received a response to my request.
Yours faithfully,
Strawberry Shortcake
Dear Strawberry Shortcake,
A response was expected to be sent today, but unfortunately it was not issued as planned, and I was out of office due to illness to ensure it went out as scheduled.
I will ensure a response is sent promptly tomorrow when I return to the office.
Thank you for understanding.
Kevin Logan
Sent from my iPhone
Please accept this response to your request for "correspondence relating to the Sussex County Education Association" pursuant to the State’s Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, et seq.
This request is invalid because it fails to ask for specifically identifiable government records and is overly broad. See, e.g., MAG Entertainment, LLC v. Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534 (App. Div. 2005). Courts have held that OPRA does not permit “[w]holesale requests for general information to be analyzed, collated and compiled by the responding government entity. In short, OPRA does not countenance open-ended searches of an agency's files.” Id. at 549. See also N.J. Builders Ass’n v. N.J. Council on Affordable Housing, 390 N.J. Super. 166 (App. Div. 2007); Bent v. Stafford Police Dep’t, 381 N.J. Super. 30 (App. Div. 2005); Elcavage v. West Milford Township, GRC Complaint No. 2009-07 (April 2010); Schuler v. Borough of Bloomsbury, GRC Complaint No. 2007-151 (February 2009).
Even so, if this office has any documents that would be germane to your request, they would likely be exempt from disclosure under the legislative exemptions to the public records laws. 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 is exempt from OPRA. Additionally, all communications prepared by or for a member in the course of the official duties are not a government record. Any specific identifiable documents are exempt as advisory, consultative or deliberative material as the records are used in the decision-making process and its disclosure would reveal deliberations that occurred during that process.” See Educ. Law Ctr. v. NJ Dep’t of Educ., 198 N.J. 274 (2009). Other exceptions also apply.
This office reserves the right to raise any rights, privileges, immunities or defenses available to this office or any member of the General Assembly under OPRA, any other statute, the common law, or the New Jersey Constitution, for the possible denial of any requested information.
Sincerely,
Kevin J. Logan
Chief Counsel
New Jersey General Assembly, Republican Office
The State House, P.O. Box 098
Trenton, NJ 08625-0098
Phone: 609-847-3400
Email: [email address]
Privileged and Confidential / Attorney Work Product. Material contained herein that is inter-agency advisory or intra-agency advisory, consultative, or deliberative material, or has been prepared for the use of a legislator in the course of the legislator’s official duties, is confidential and is not to be disclosed beyond the intended recipients.