Sponsored by:
Senator CARMEN F. AMATO, JR.
District 9 (Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes government records internet database; appropriates $10 million.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing a government records internet database, supplementing Title 47 of the New Jersey Statutes, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Department of Community Affairs shall establish an internet database of government records displaying State and local department, agency, commission, authority, and instrumentality records. The database shall be accessible by the public. The Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs shall promulgate rules and regulations regarding which government records shall be submitted to the department for inclusion in the database. The Commissioner shall designate which government records shall be accessible in the database in the medium or format the agency maintains and which government records shall be converted to a more user-friendly format for the database. When determining the format of a record to be included in the database, the commissioner shall consider both ease of format accessibility for the public and the cost and effort of conversion to the agency.
As used in this section, government record shall have the same meaning as in section 1 of P.L.1995, c.23 (C.47:1A-1.1).
2. There is hereby appropriated $10,000,000 from the State General Fund to the Department of Community Affairs for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this act, but the Commissioner may take such anticipatory action as may be necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect on the 180th day after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Department of Community Affairs to establish a government records internet database for the government records of all State and local agencies to be accessible by the public. The Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs will determine which government records will be required to be submitted to the department for inclusion in the database. The Commissioner will also designate which government records will be accessible in the database in the medium or format the agency maintains and which will be accessible in a format converted from what the agency maintains to a more user-friendly format. In making the determination, the commissioner will consider both ease of record accessibility for the public and cost and effort of the conversion to the agency.
This bill appropriates $10 million from the State General Fund to the Department of Community Affairs to establish the database.