Bill Text: NJ A2180 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires OLS to make audiovisual recordings of legislative sessions available to public in electronic form.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-11 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State Government Committee [A2180 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A2180-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman NANCY F. MUNOZ
District 21 (Essex, Morris, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Requires OLS to make audiovisual recordings of legislative sessions available to public in electronic form.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act providing for public access to audiovisual recordings of legislative sessions in electronic form, and amending P.L.1995, c.319.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.1995, c.319 (C. 52:11-78) is amended to read as follows:
1. a. The Office of Legislative Services shall make available to the public and maintain in electronic form the following information:
(1) the most current available compilation of the official text of the statutes of New Jersey;
(2) the text of all bills introduced during the current two-year session of the Legislature, including amended versions, as well as sponsor statements, committee statements, and fiscal notes;
(3) all bills currently pending in the Legislature, listed by subject and sponsor;
(4) bill-tracking data on all bills pending in the Legislature, including the history of actions, current status, a complete voting record, including individual votes by members of the Legislature recorded during committee meetings, updated on a daily basis and made available and maintained for the two-year legislative term in progress and the immediately preceding term, and, where appropriate, by citation of the section of law to be amended by a bill;
(5) a current calendar of legislative events, including the schedule of legislative committee meetings, and a list of bills scheduled for legislative action;
(6) a current directory of the members of the Legislature, including complete committee membership information;
(7) the text of all chapter laws beginning with laws passed by the Legislature after 12:00 noon, January 9, 1996; [and]
(8) such other information as the Legislative Services Commission shall direct.; and
(9) complete and unedited audiovisual recordings of every session of the Senate and General Assembly, produced in a manner to ensure impartiality and made accessible through live feeds and archived files.
b. The information specified in subsection a. of this section shall be made available to the public through the largest nonproprietary cooperative public computer network.
c. The Office of
Legislative Services shall not impose a fee or usage charge as a condition of
accessing the information specified
in subsection a. of this section through the network described in subsection b.
of this section.
d. The Office of Legislative Services may offer a fee-based electronic legislative information service which may include, in addition to the information specified in paragraphs (1) through (8) of subsection a. of this section, the following information and capabilities:
(1) the ability for users to automatically maintain updated private databases and receive notification of scheduled action on specific bills or subject matter;
(2) the ability for users to retrieve information by various means of searching full text; and
(3) archives of bill texts and related information from prior sessions of the Legislature.
e. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as prohibiting a private individual or entity from using the information specified in subsection a. of this section to provide, either commercially or on a voluntary basis, services similar to those provided by the Office of Legislative Services pursuant to subsection d. of this section.
f. The Office of Legislative Services shall consult with the appropriate office within the executive branch of the State government responsible for computer security and guidelines in order to provide the information specified in subsection a. of this section on the largest nonproprietary cooperative public computer network, and both offices shall take all appropriate security measures, subject to the approval of the Legislative Services Commission or the designee thereof, to protect the computer systems that provide access to and store the information specified in subsection a. of this section.
g. No fee shall be charged to the Office of Legislative Services by the appropriate office within the executive branch of the State government responsible for computer security and guidelines for services rendered related to this act.
(cf: P.L.2007, c.160)
2. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Office of Legislative Services such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of paragraph (9) of subsection a. of section 1 of P.L.1995, c.319 (C.52:11-78).
3. This act shall take effect immediately, except that section 1 shall take effect on the 180th day after enactment and the Office of Legislative Services may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of the act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Office of Legislative Services (OLS) to provide public access to complete and unedited audiovisual recordings of every session of the Senate and General Assembly. The recordings shall be produced to ensure impartiality and shall be made accessible to the public through the Internet as live feeds and archived files. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the OLS such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this bill. This bill amends current law which requires OLS to provide public access to other information in electronic form, such as laws, legislation, and legislative activity, free of charge over the Internet.
