N.J. Admin. Code § 13:1E-2.4

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 13:1E-2.4 - Procedures for requests

(a) Written Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests shall be hand-delivered during normal business hours of the public agency, mailed, or submitted electronically to the appropriate division or agency custodian of records over the Internet by means of a web-enabled OPRA request form, which can be found on the Department of Law and Public Safety OPRA website, www.state.nj.us/lps/opra. Submission of requests by facsimile transmission or e-mail is not permitted.

(b) Only the appropriate division or agency custodian of the record requested is authorized to accept receipt of an OPRA request on behalf of that division or agency. A request is not considered filed until the written OPRA request has been received by the appropriate division or agency custodian of the record requested. Any officer or employee of a division or agency who receives a request for access to a government record of that division or agency shall not accept that request on behalf of the division or agency, but shall direct the requester to the division or agency custodian of records.

(c) Upon receipt of the written OPRA request, the custodian of records shall review the request for clarity and completeness. If the request is unclear as to the required information, the custodian shall attempt to contact the requester for clarification, provided contact information is included in the request. The custodian may require the requester to provide additional information to identify the record. The custodian shall deny a request for access if the request is unclear or incomplete. A request shall not be deemed complete until any required deposit or prepayment is received by the custodian.

(d) The custodian shall estimate the cost of providing the records and may require the payment of a deposit under the circumstances set forth in N.J.A.C. 13:1E-2.5. Payment shall be made by cash, check, or money order payable to the State of New Jersey.

(e) The fees assessed by the Department of Law and Public Safety for reproduction of a government record shall be as set forth in N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5. In the event that the actual cost for reproduction of a government record exceeds this rate, the custodian of records shall be permitted to charge the actual cost of reproducing the record.

(f) Whenever the nature, format, manner of collation, or volume of a government record to be inspected, examined, or reproduced is such that the record cannot be reproduced by ordinary document copying equipment in ordinary business size, or involves an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort to accommodate the request, the custodian of records may charge, in addition to the actual cost of reproducing the record, a special service charge that shall be reasonable and shall be based upon the actual direct cost of providing the copy or copies, including the labor and overhead costs of locating, collating, compiling, review, redaction, reproduction, and delivering the requested records. The requester shall be given the opportunity to review and object to the special service charge prior to its being incurred. If the requester objects to the special service charge and refuses to withdraw the request, the custodian may deny the request after attempting to reach a reasonable solution that accommodates the interests of the requester and the agency.

(g) The custodian of records shall charge an additional fee representing the cost of postage on records delivered by mail or the cost of any other method of delivery requested by the requester. The custodian shall not provide access to or copies of the requested government records until the custodian has received payment in full of all costs and fees associated with the OPRA request from the requester. The custodian shall deny the request in the event that the requester fails or refuses to pay the costs and fees associated with the OPRA request.

(h) The custodian of records shall provide the requester with a copy of a dated OPRA receipt, which shall indicate the records for which access or copies will be provided, whether redactions were required, the reasons for denial of access, if applicable, and the costs and fees associated with the OPRA request.

(i) No fee shall be required for inspecting or examining government records, except:

1. Where a special service charge is permitted under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.c and this chapter;

2. Where redaction and/or copying of government records shall be necessary; and/or

3. When an employee is required to monitor an inspection of original records by a requestor during an on-site inspection.

(j) Upon request, a custodian of records may allow requesters to use their own equipment to copy government records, provided that it will not disrupt the business operations of the agency and will not endanger the public records. A special fee may be charged to a requester as permitted under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.c.

N.J. Admin. Code § 13:1E-2.4

Petition for Rulemaking.
See: 50 N.J.R. 680(b), 50 N.J.R. 917(b).