OPRA Requests
ASK NJ Media made this OPRA request to State Ethics Commission This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.
Dear State Ethics Commission,
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I certify under penalty of NJSA 2C:28-3 that I have not been convicted of an indictable offense. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
I'm requesting copies of all OPRA requests from August 1, 2017 to November 20, 2017.
Yours faithfully,
ASK NJ Media Co.
The State Ethics Commission (SEC) received an e-mail from AskNJ Media in
which you may be seeking to request access to government records under the
New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA).
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
facsimile transmission or 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, [1]www.state.nj.us/lps/opra. Submission
of requests by facsimile transmission or e-mail is not permitted.”
N.J.A.C. 13:1E-2.4(b) provides, in part: “Only the appropriate division or
agency custodian of the record requested is authorized to accept receipt
of an OPRA request on behalf of that division or agency.”
This restriction is supported by New Jersey case law. In 2009, the
Appellate Division stated in Renna v. County of Union, 407 N.J. Super. 230
(App. Div. 2009), “the primary objective of the statutory construct is
that the requester set forth in writing, and in a cogent and clear manner,
the nature of the request and the other information required by N.J.S.A.
47:1A-5(f).” On the same day, the Appellate Division held in Paff v. City
of East Orange, 407 N.J. Super. 221 (App. Div. 2009):
“We conclude that the authority N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5 (f) (1) confers upon a
custodian of government records to adopt a form for requesting access to a
government record, which includes ‘specific directions and procedures for
requesting a record,’ authorizes a custodian to direct that a request for
a government record must be transmitted only by methods specified in the
form, which need not include every method of transmission mentioned in
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g).”
The records request form for the Department of Law and Public Safety, in
relevant part, states:
1. State Law requires that in order to request access to government
records, you must complete, sign and date a written request for access and
deliver it in person or by mail during regular business hours to the
appropriate custodian of the record requested. You may also complete and
submit a web enabled version of this request form at [2]www.nj.gov/opra.
L&PS will not accept submission of a written request for access by fax or
email. Your request is not considered filed until the written request has
been received by the appropriate custodian of the record requested.
2. If you 1) submit a request for access to government records to someone
other than the appropriate custodian; or 2) do not complete a written
request containing the information required in this form; or 3) make a
request for access by telephone, email or fax, the Open Public Records Act
and its deadlines, restrictions and remedies will not apply to your
request.
For these reasons, I am not able to accept your recent e-mail to the SEC
as a valid OPRA request.
You can file an OPRA request on-line with the Office of the Attorney
General using the Online Request Form found at the Department of Law and
Public Safety OPRA website [3]www.state.nj.us/lps/opra.
The online OPRA request process was designed for the ease and convenience
of requesters. You are not required to submit an OPRA request by using
the online or paper OPRA request form. However, you are required to
submit OPRA requests in writing. Should you choose to submit written OPRA
requests, please be sure to mail them individually to the appropriate
division records custodians.
Thank you,
Shanna Cook
Alternate Records Custodian
Shanna Cook
Administrative Assistant
State Ethics Commission
28 West State Street
PO Box 082
Trenton, New Jersey 08625
(609) 292-1892
References
Visible links
1. http://www.state.nj.us/lps/opra
2. http://www.nj.gov/opra
3. http://www.state.nj.us/lps/opra
Dear Shanna Cook,
I'm not legally required to fill out your agency's form and that my email request
is legally valid. Please comply with my legally valid OPRA request within the legal time period
of 7 business days. Pursuant to Renna v. County of Union (App. Div. 2009),
OPRA requests should be on the agency’s official OPRA request form.
However, a written request that is not on the agency’s official OPRA
request form cannot be denied solely because the request is not on the
request form. Written requests which are not on the form must mention
OPRA. Therefore, if a requestor elects not to use an agency’s official
OPRA request form, he/she must submit an otherwise written request that
clearly identifies itself as an OPRA request.
Yours sincerely,
ASK NJ Media Co.
Dear Sir/Madam:
I have attached the response to your OPRA request submitted on November
20, 2017.
Regards,
Shanna Cook
Alternate OPRA Custodian
State Ethics Commission
28 West State Street
PO Box 082
Trenton, New Jersey 08625
(609) 292-1892