This bill amends existing law to enhance the privacy protections for individuals by allowing government records custodians to redact specific personal information from public records. The new provisions enable custodians to withhold details such as mailing addresses, home addresses (both primary and secondary), phone numbers, email addresses, and any medical, financial, or personal information that could violate a citizen's reasonable expectation of privacy or lead to harassment, unwanted solicitation, identity theft, or other criminal acts. This change aims to safeguard individuals from potential misuse of their personal information when responding to public records requests.

Additionally, the bill codifies the ruling from the case Burnett v. County of Bergen, reinforcing the principle that individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding certain personal information. The legislation emphasizes the importance of protecting citizens from unwanted solicitations and cybercrime, while still allowing for the legitimate use of contact information by government agencies, such as for emergency alert systems. Overall, the bill seeks to balance public access to government records with the need to protect individual privacy rights.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 47:1A-1, 47:1A-5