Bill Text: NJ A4599 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Exempts personal information from redaction and nondisclosure requirements in certain public filings and records.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-17 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A4599 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A4599-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman YVONNE LOPEZ
District 19 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Exempts personal information from redaction and nondisclosure requirements in certain public filings and records.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning certain exceptions to the nondisclosure and redaction requirements for public records and amending P.L.2021, c.371.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-1) is amended to read as follows:
1. a. As used in this act, P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-1 et al.):
"Authorized person" means a covered person or any of the following persons hereby authorized to submit or revoke a request for the redaction or nondisclosure of a home address on behalf of a covered person:
(1) on behalf of any federal judge, a designee of the United States Marshals Service or of the clerk of any United States District Court, provided that the designee submits the affirmation required under subsection d. of section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2) signed by each federal judge for whom a request or revocation is made;
(2) on behalf of any covered person who is deceased or medically or psychologically incapacitated, a person acting on behalf of the covered person as a designated trustee, as an estate executor, or pursuant to a written power of attorney or other legal instrument, provided that the person signs and submits the affirmation required under subsection d. of section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2) in the stead of the covered person; and
(3) on behalf of any immediate family member who is a minor and who is otherwise entitled to address redaction or nondisclosure pursuant to this act, the parent or legal guardian thereof.
"Covered person" means an active, formerly active, or retired judicial officer, law enforcement officer, or child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, as those terms are defined by section 1 of P.L.1995, c.23 (C.47:1A-1.1), or prosecutor, and any immediate family member residing in the same household as the judicial officer, law enforcement officer, child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, or prosecutor.
"Immediate family member" means a spouse, child, or parent of, or any other family member related by blood or by law to, an active, formerly active, or retired judicial officer, law enforcement officer, or child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, as defined by section 1 of P.L.1995, c.23 (C.47:1A-1.1), or prosecutor and who resides in the same household as the judicial officer, law enforcement officer, child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, or prosecutor.
b. There is established in the Department of Community Affairs an office to be known as the Office of Information Privacy. The office shall be led by a director, who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Commissioner of Community Affairs and who may hire staff as necessary.
c. The director shall establish:
(1) a secure portal through which an authorized person may submit or revoke a request for the redaction or nondisclosure of a covered person's home address from certain records and Internet postings, as provided in section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2); and such requests shall not be subject to disclosure under P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.);
(2) a process by which an authorized person may petition the director for reconsideration of a denial of such request or any revocations thereof;
(3) a process by which a person or entity may request receipt of a record that does not contain redactions, or of information that is not disclosable, resulting from subsection a. of section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2); and
(4) a process for the evaluation of any other exceptions to the requirement for redaction or nondisclosure pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2), whether categorical or individualized. The director may grant an exception to any person or entity for the receipt of the unredacted records or information pursuant to this process.
d. The director shall evaluate and either approve or deny a request submitted pursuant to subsection c. of this section and any revocations thereof.
e. (1) The director may enter into any agreement or contract necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
(2) The director may issue any guidance, guidelines, decisions, or rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act. The rules and regulations shall be effective immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law for a period not to exceed 18 months, and shall, thereafter, be amended, adopted, or readopted in accordance with the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
f. The director, on the secure portal established pursuant to subsection c. of this section, shall identify and prominently display the exceptions to the redaction and nondisclosure requirements, as established by section 3 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-3).
(cf: P.L.2023, c.113, s.3)
2. Section 3 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-3) is amended to read as follows:
3. a. The following exceptions shall apply to the requirement to redact, and the prohibition against the disclosure of, a home address pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2) in accordance with section 2 of P.L.2015, c.226 (C.47:1-17), section 1 of P.L.1995, c.23 (C.47:1A-1.1), or section 6 of P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5):
(1) Copies of voter registration files maintained in the Statewide voter registration system pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2005, c.145 (C.19:31-32) and maintained by the commissioner of registration in each county pursuant to R.S.19:31-3 shall be provided as redacted pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2), except that copies of the files as unredacted pursuant thereto shall be provided to the following individuals, upon the individual's signing of an affidavit attesting to the individual's qualifying status pursuant hereto:
(a) the chairperson of the county or municipal committee of a political party, as appropriate under R.S.19:7-1, or a designee thereof, for distribution to any person authorized to serve as a challenger pursuant to R.S.19:7-1 or section 2 of P.L.2021, c.40 (C.19:15A-2), subject to the limitations in section 1 of P.L.1960, c.82 (C.19:7-6.1); and the unredacted copies may only be used for the purpose specified in R.S.19:7-5;
(b) a candidate, or a designee thereof, for distribution to a challenger appointed thereby pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2021, c.40 (C.19:15A-2) for the person's use in accordance with R.S.19:7-5;
(c) a candidate acting as a challenger pursuant to R.S.19:7-2 or the other person appointed thereunder, for use in accordance with R.S.19:7-5;
(d) any vendor, contractor, or organization carrying out a function of a county or of the State concerning the administration or conduct of elections; and
(e) upon order of a judge of the Superior Court after a finding that the unredacted copy is necessary to determine the merits of a petition filed in accordance with R.S.19:29-3, a person filing such petition or the respondent or both.
This paragraph shall apply to registry lists as described in section 2 of P.L.1947, c.347 (C.19:31-18.1).
(2) Other than as provided in subparagraphs (d) and (e) of paragraph (4) of this subsection, a document affecting the title to real property, as defined by N.J.S.46:26A-2, recorded and indexed by a county recording officer, or as otherwise held or maintained by the Division of Taxation, a county board of taxation, a county tax administrator, or a county or municipal tax assessor, that contains an address subject to redaction or nondisclosure consistent with this act, P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-1 et al.):
may instead or in addition include the redaction and nondisclosure of the names or other information of approved covered persons, as specified by the Director of the Division of Taxation, which redaction and nondisclosure may include masking of such names or other information, and
shall be provided as unredacted to the following persons when requested in such person's ordinary course of business:
(a) a title insurance company, a title insurance agent, or an approved attorney, as defined in section 1 of P.L.1975, c.106 (C.17:46B-1);
(b) a mortgage guarantee insurance company, as described in section 4 of P.L.1968, c.248 (C.17:46A-4);
(c) a mortgage loan originator, as defined in section 3 of P.L.2009, c.53 (C.17:11C-53);
(d) a registered title search business entity, as defined in section 4 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.17:46B-1.1);
(e) a real estate broker, a real estate salesperson, a real estate broker-salesperson, a real estate salesperson licensed with a real estate referral company, or a real estate referral company, as such terms are defined in R.S.45:15-3; and
(f) an individual or business that has made or received an offer for the purchase of real estate and real property, or any portion thereof, to or from a covered person whose address is subject to redaction or nondisclosure pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2).
This act shall not be construed to prohibit a county recording officer from returning a document as unredacted to any person who submitted the document for recordation.
(3) A home address as unredacted may be provided by a public agency to the majority representative of such agency's employees.
(4) The following shall not be subject to redaction or nondisclosure pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2):
(a) records and documents, including Uniform Commercial Code filings and financing statements, maintained by the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services in the Department of the Treasury;
(b) petitions naming candidates for office pursuant to R.S.19:13-1 and R.S.19:13-4;
(c) petitions signed in accordance with R.S.19:13-6;
(d) records evidencing any lien, judgement, or other encumbrance upon real or other property;
(e) assessment lists subject to inspection pursuant to R.S.54:4-38 when inspected in person;
(f) the index of all recorded documents maintained by a county recording officer as under N.J.S.46:26A-8 when inspected in person; [and]
(g) property that is presumed abandoned under the "Uniform Unclaimed Property Act," P.L.1989, c.58 (C.46:30B-1 et seq.);
(h) recall petitions circulated and signed in accordance with P.L.1995, c.105 (C.19:27A-1 et seq.);
(i) any reports concerning campaign contributions and expenditures required to be filed with the Election Law Enforcement Commission by any individual, candidate, campaign, committee, or other entity pursuant to "The New Jersey Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Act," P.L.1973, c.83 (C.19:44A-1 et seq.), or any report or list of such contributions required to be submitted pursuant to P.L.2005, c. 51 (C.19:44A-20.13 et seq.) or P.L.2005, c.271 (C.19:44A-20.26 et seq.);
(j) any financial disclosure statements filed with the Election Law Enforcement Commission by a candidate for Governor pursuant to P.L.1981, c.129 (C.19:44B-1 et seq.); and
(k) any reports filed with the Election Law Enforcement Commission by a lobbyist or governmental affairs agent, or by any recipient of a benefit therefrom, pursuant to P.L.1971, c.183 (C.52:13C-18 et seq.).
(5) A public agency may share unredacted information with any vendor, contractor, or organization to carry out the purposes for which the public agency entered into an agreement with the vendor, contractor, or organization. The vendor, contractor, or organization shall not use such information in any manner other than as necessary to carry out the purposes of the agreement.
(6) For a record or other document containing a home address required to be redacted pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2) that, because of the characteristics or properties of the record or document, is only available to be viewed in person, a custodian or other government official shall make every reasonable effort to hide such address when allowing an individual without authority to view such address as unredacted to view the record or document.
b. Nothing in this act shall be construed to require redaction or nondisclosure of any information in any document, record, information, or database shared with or otherwise provided to any other government entity.
c. Information otherwise subject to redaction or nondisclosure pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-2) may be provided as unredacted upon order of a judge of the Superior Court or of any other court of competent jurisdiction.
d. This section shall not be construed to require a record to be made available that is not otherwise required to be made available under any other law or regulation.
e. The Director of the
Division of Taxation may issue any guidance, guidelines, or rules and
regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section. The rules and
regulations shall be effective immediately upon filing with the Office of
Administrative Law for a period not to exceed 18 months, and shall, thereafter,
be amended, adopted, or readopted in accordance with
the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
(cf: P.L.2021, c.371, s.3)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
Under current law, certain public officials and employees, such as judges and law enforcement officers, are entitled to have their home address redacted or subject to nondisclosure when a public agency has possession of such information. However, there are certain exceptions when an individual's information may still be disclosed, even if they are otherwise entitled to redaction or nondisclosure.
This bill would add to the list of exceptions:
(1) recall petitions circulated and signed in this State;
(2) any report of campaign contributions or expenditures filed by any individual, candidate, campaign, committee, or other entity under "The New Jersey Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Act," or any report or list of such contributions submitted by an entity seeking or holding a public contract;
(3) any financial disclosure statement made by a candidate for Governor; and
(4) any report of activities required to be submitted by a lobbyist or governmental affairs agent in this State.
This bill would also require the director of the Office of Information Privacy to identify and display all exceptions on the secure portal where individuals can request the redaction or nondisclosure of their information.
