CWA OPPOSES FAST-TRACKED PROCESS SEEKING TO OVERHAUL OPRA & HOW IT WILL MAKE NJ GOVERNMENT LESS TRANSPARENT

OPRA Overhaul Will Bring Chilling Effect On Flow of Information & Devastating Impact on Democracy, Transparency and Accountability.

(TRENTON, NJ) – The Communications Workers of America (CWA) strongly opposes the secretive process in which legislation overhauling the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) is being fast-tracked this week, as well as its intended result – which will make it harder for both the public and media to access important information and governmental records.

First introduced last Monday, nothing about these bills was made public online until a day later – with both Assembly and Senate legislative hearings scheduled for tomorrow morning, Monday, March 11^th.  These “reforms” were crafted behind closed doors, with absolutely no real input from the public or interested/impacted parties.  The lack of transparency in the legislative process is only surpassed by the lack of information, which will come from revamping OPRA via increased limitation of public access to government documents and other crucial materials.

“Democracy dies in the dark. And at a pivotal time in history – in which our very democracy is under very real threats – our government should not be undermining the right of the people to vital information,” said Dennis Trainor, Vice President for CWA District 1. “The way the legislature is contemplating revamping OPRA will have a chilling effect and devastating impact on our ability to get a hold of crucial information. These rollbacks will make government less accountable to the public.”

“It’s extraordinarily ironic that the Open Public Records Act is supposed to be all about transparency, yet this whole process has kept people in the dark,” said Fran Ehret, CWA NJ State Director. “The legislation revising OPRA was crafted behind closed doors. And then they sprung it on us – giving no ability for review by those affected, let alone public input before being fast-tracked. It’s especially paradoxical that this curtailing of information is transpiring during ‘Sunshine Week’.”

OPRA currently requires government agencies – at the state, county, and local levels – to provide the public and members of the media with access to governmental records and info.  In their day-to-day jobs, CWA members are directly affected by this potential update, since they’re the ones often processing OPRA requests as local government clerks and in state and county offices.

New Jersey’s legislative and gubernatorial primary elections are a little over a year away.  CWA members – and everyone who cares about good, transparent government – will remember how neither the public nor impacted parties were consulted, let alone given time to provide input or thoughts on something that will fundamentally undermine the tenets of governmental transparency and accountability.

Today also ironically kicks off “Sunshine Week”, which culminates this Friday with “National Freedom of Information Day.’”

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The Communications Workers of America represents 700,000 working men and women in telecommunications, customer service, healthcare, media, airlines, public service, and manufacturing. CWA District 1 represents more than 70,000 working families in New Jersey – including over 40,000 state workers, and 15,000 county and municipal workers.