[MCANJ Members] OPRA Reform & Pending Legislative Bills to Watch for the Municipal Clerk

Hello members of our amazing Association!! I wanted to send an email out to the Association to recap OPRA Reform Bill S2930/A4045 and to make you aware of the multitude of additional bills pending that impact your role in the Municipal Clerks’ office. This year we have seen significant bills being moved at incredible speed from Affordable Housing to OPRA Reform and a tremendous volume of bills that impact our role as a Municipal Clerk that I have not seen in my career as a Municipal Clerk. We have Deputy Executive Director/Director of Government Affairs for the New Jersey League of Municipalities, Lori Buckelew speaking at our up coming conference next month on Legislation in Trenton-I’m sorry Lori only has an hour and half to speak. Lori probably could have used a whole day to talk about the attached bills and then some. You can find these bills on our website as well under “Legislation” and can read them in their entirety. Our MCANJ Legislation Committee Chair Michele Siegried has been doing a tremendous job keeping up with the bills and updating the Executive Board and our Website Manager, April Claudio so we are aware of the every changing movement of some of these bills. On March 14th, OPRA Reform Bill S2930/A4045 was removed from the agenda of the Assembly Appropriations Committee for consideration. The week prior to this meeting there were some questioning, “Where are the Municipal Clerks in all of this?” For those to question this do not understand the complexity of our Association nor do they understand our role being a 501 (c) (3) private, non-profit organization that is devoted to supporting and advancing its members’ educational, professional, and personal interests. The Municipal Clerks who make up the MCANJ membership serve with distinction on the front lines of public service as they assist residents in accessing local government services and information. As a general rule, MCANJ does not lobby or engage in partisan activities. This is intentional and reflects that Municipal Clerks are involved in activities, such as election and licensing, that require the utmost integrity and independence to ensure public confidence. Our Association fully supports the principal foundation of OPRA, including transparency in local government and the right of residents to be fully informed about municipal operations. However, the law is regularly perverted in a manner that severely diminishes the noble purpose for which it was adopted. OPRA reform is essential to save the OPRA law from itself. Our Association has worked tirelessly from one Executive Board to another in trying to get OPRA reformed because we know the law is antiquated, needs to be modernized as its twenty years old, and is abused. The Executive Board and our OPRA Liasion has spoken personally and provided factual data to Senators, Assemblypersons, and members of the League of Municipalities. We have been asked twice to assist others on Amicus Briefs pertaining to OPRA. Its been our front line experiences that other organizations have asked us to share when it comes to helping them fight OPRA as well and has brought us before the Supreme Court twice and won. It’s your personal experiences we asked you to share with your State Representatives when it comes to Bill S2930/A4045 and you have- we appreciate you taking the time in doing so. Your State Representatives acknowledged the outreach. Please continue to reach out to your State Representatives and provide them your experiences-it will help them understand what you as a Municipal Clerk experience on a day to day basis when it comes to OPRA and provide examples. Though the bill has currently been stalled, its not been tossed to the wayside either. Many of our State Representatives agree that OPRA needs to be reformed and from those I have spoken with over the last two weeks, they asked for the bill to be tabled to make sure its right. Some State Representatives want to make sure items they are concerned with when it comes to OPRA are included as well that were not part of this initial bill. Our State Representatives have acknowledged to me that they understand OPRA has impacted the Municipal Clerks. Stakeholders are anticipated to meet next month to talk about the bill and we will be involved in that process. As Municipal Clerks we will work together with all parties involved in a dignified manner and as always we take the high road for resolution. As we move forward on Bill S2930/A4045 we will update the Association. If you wish to share with me any examples of situations you have been in when it comes to OPRA to have when speaking with all the stakeholders, please feel free to reach out to me at president@mcanj.us<mailto:president@mcanj.us> or our OPRA Liaison Kim-Marie White at kwhite@eastampton.com<mailto:kwhite@eastampton.com>. So to answer those questioning, “Where are the Municipal Clerks in all of this?” We haven’t gone anywhere-we have been working with everyone involved and many of the amendments to the OPRA reform came from State Representative listening to you, reading the headlines of the papers, reading GRC complaints, reading court case opinions, etc. These amendments come from fact driven data. The amendments are not arbitrary. The Municipal Clerks’ Association does not need to be front and center in the headlines on OPRA reform nor do we need hundreds of Municipal Clerks storming the halls of Trenton demanding ORPA reform-there is no need for that. Again, the fact driven data and personal accounts don’t lie and have been made available to the bill Sponsors and others who are involved in this reform. The proposed bill is an opportunity to see change that is long overdue. The bill is not impeding one from filing an OPRA or preventing one from getting records they are requesting. This bill delivers much needed reform to allow OPRA to continue the way it was properly intended. Two other bills to pay close attention to are: 1. Bill No. 2865/A4055 – Establishes “The Voters Convenience Act” -Introduced March 4th – Allows voters to vote at any polling location in their municipality on election day. Pending Assembly State and Local Government Committee. Came out of the Senate Committee on March 18, 2024 with Amendments. 2. Bill No. A2990/A3371- Provides for Immediate Issuance of Marriage and Civil Union Licenses. Bill was introduced on February 1, 2024. Introduced in the Senate, Referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee March 18, 2024. This is a bill to watch for those with the dual title of Municipal Clerk/Registrar. And on the federal front, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two decisions when it comes to elected officials use of social media: Public officials can be held liable for blocking critics on social media - SCOTUSblog<https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/03/public-officials-can-be-he… Our upcoming conference next month is a prime example of why you attend conferences and sessions regardless of needing CEU’s. Many of our speakers will be talking about the ABC liquor license changes, OPRA Reform, new election bills proposed/passed, proposed legislation pertaining to Vital Statistics, and the Affordable Housing Bill that was just passed this month. Our attendees will get the opportunity to speak one on one to many of these guest presenters during our round table discussions on Tuesday, April 23rd , listen in on the new Affordable Housing bill requirements and impacts on Wednesday, April 24th, and Legislative updates on Thursday, April 25th. By reading the attached bills introduced you can see there is a lot going on and our Conference Committee has made sure that our attendees will be listening in on the hottest topics occurring right now in our profession. For those that have registered, you will be in for a learning adventure!! Michele Michele Bobrowski, MMC, CMC, RMC, CMR, CPM President, MCANJ [cid:d60d01b8-d80d-4264-bfa5-23ea9fefbc9e]