Documents submitted by Central Jersey College Prep Charter School
Dear New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs,
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
The documents below submitted by the Central Jersey College Prep Charter School (Somerset, NJ) for the 2019 and 2020 years:
1-Completed & Signed Registration Form
2-IRS Form 990 & Certified Audit
3-Amended Formation Document and/or By Laws (if amended)
4-Any IRS Correspondence received during the fiscal year ending being reported.
Yours faithfully,
John Kenneth
Dear Mr. Kenneth
Please be advised that pursuant to regulation, N.J.A.C. 13:1E-2, and long-standing L&PS policy and practice, submission of OPRA requests by e-mail is not permitted. N.J.A.C. 13:1E-2.4(a) states: "Written Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests shall be hand-delivered during normal business hours of the public agency, mailed or submitted electronically to the appropriate division or agency custodian of records over the Internet by means of a web-enabled OPRA request form, which can be found on the Department of Law and Public Safety OPRA website, www.state.nj.us/lps/opra . Submission of requests by e-mail or facsimile transmission is not permitted." For these reasons, I am not able to accept your email below as a valid request for access to government records.
I look forward to assist you when we received the completed form. Feel free to contact our office at 973-424-8111 should you require further assistance.
Sincerely,
Lucie Moreira
Supervisor Records Management
OPRA & Records Management Unit
New Jersey Office of The Attorney General
Division of Consumer Affairs
124 Halsey Street, 7th Floor
Newark, NJ 07101
☎️ Office (973) 424-8194
Dear Mr. Kenneth
Please be advised that pursuant to regulation, N.J.A.C. 13:1E-2, and long-standing L&PS policy and practice, submission of OPRA requests by e-mail is not permitted. N.J.A.C. 13:1E-2.4(a) states: "Written Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests shall be hand-delivered during normal business hours of the public agency, mailed or submitted electronically to the appropriate division or agency custodian of records over the Internet by means of a web-enabled OPRA request form, which can be found on the Department of Law and Public Safety OPRA website, www.state.nj.us/lps/opra . Submission of requests by e-mail or facsimile transmission is not permitted." For these reasons, I am not able to accept your email below as a valid request for access to government records.
I look forward to assist you when we received the completed form. Feel free to contact our office at 973-424-8111 should you require further assistance.
Sincerely,
Lucie Moreira
Supervisor Records Management
OPRA & Records Management Unit
New Jersey Office of The Attorney General
Division of Consumer Affairs
124 Halsey Street, 7th Floor
Newark, NJ 07101
☎️ Office (973) 424-8194
Dear Dca recordsdca,
In Paff v. City of East Orange, 407 N.J. Super. 221, 229 (App. Div. 2009), the Appellate Division stated that “N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(f)(1) expressly delegates authority to each custodian of government records to adopt a form for use in making OPRA requests that includes ‘specific directions and procedures for requesting a record.’” At the same time, the appeals court held that a “custodian may not exercise his authority under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-7(f)(1) in a manner that would impose an unreasonable obstacle to the transmission of a request for a governmental record, such as, for example, by requiring any OPRA request to be hand-delivered.”
The GRC’s Decision
The GRC found that East Orange’s policy of banning submission of OPRA requests electronically represents an “unreasonable obstacle on access.”
In support of its decision, the GRC stated that “[a]llowing for at least one form of electronic transmission method is reasonable in a time when citizens and public agencies are increasingly relying on technology to perform their daily duties.”
Yours sincerely,
John Kenneth
Dear Mr. Kenneth,
The Division of Consumer Affairs does accept electronic transmission and submission of OPRA requests via an online portal at https://www-njlib.state.nj.us/NJ_OPRA/de... This is the only electronic means permitted by our Departmental regulations. The Court in Paff v. East Orange, 407 N.J. Super. 221, 224 (App. Div. 2009), expressly held that OPRA "authorizes a custodian to direct that a request for a government record must be transmitted only by methods specified in the form." Here, all Divisions of the Department of Law & Public Safety are permitted to only accept OPRA requests submitted electronically via the OPRA Central portal or via hard copy correspondence. Regulations expressly prohibited the submission of record requests via email or facsimile. The use of the online portal meets the GRC's statement in Paff that at least one electronic form of submission be available. In submitting a request to Consumer Affairs via the portal, select "Law and Public Safety" from the drop down menu. Next, select "Division of Consumer Affairs." A confirmation number will be provided on the screen upon successful submission of the request. I hope this additional information provides clarification on the proper means of submitting an electronic request to Consumer Affairs. Should you wish not to utilize the above portal, Consumer Affairs also accepts written, hard copy submission of OPRA requests.
For your convenience, a form is available on the AG’s website, https://www.njoag.gov/wp-content/uploads... , that you can print and mail should you prefer to submit your request via traditional mail.
Sincerely,
Lucie Moreira
Supervisor Records Management
OPRA & Records Management Unit
New Jersey Office of The Attorney General
Division of Consumer Affairs
124 Halsey Street, 7th Floor
Newark, NJ 07101
☎️ Office (973) 424-8194
📱Cell (973) 896-0618
[email address]
www.njconsumeraffairs.gov
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