In general, OPRA provides that "government records shall be readily accessible for inspection, copying, or examination by the citizens of this State, with certain exceptions, for the protection of the public interest.
"[1] OPRA may be viewed as New Jersey's equivalent to the United States federal Freedom of Information Act.
OPRA has multiple features to it:[2] [4][5] During the eight years of the Chris Christie administration, his office spent more than $1 million challenging OPRA requests, including court fees for illegally withholding information.
[6] Although the Government Records Council is charged with settling OPRA release disputes, the underfunded and understaffed agency has a backlog of requests dating to 2014.
In late March 2018, an estimated 10% remained outstanding, including some assigned to other government entities, but 347 flagged as GRC “work in progress”.