Bill > S727

Introduced Session

The purpose of this bill, designated as the "New Jersey Open Data Initiative," is to require State departments and agencies to make available certain public information on the Internet. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of the Treasury to establish an unique, dedicated, easily navigable Internet website which will offer to the public all available appropriate existing and future electronic data sets maintained by each State department and agency. Each State department and agency must, under the direction of the State Treasurer, provide to the Treasurer or make available thereto a link to appropriate existing and future electronic data sets maintained by the department or agency electronically, in such format as determined by the Treasurer. As used in the bill, "data sets" means a named collection of related records on an electronic storage device, with the collection containing individual data units organized or formatted in a specific and prescribed way, often in tabular form, and accessed by a specific access method that is based on the data set organization. A data set would not include any data that is protected from disclosure under applicable federal or State law, or contract, or data that is proprietary. In addition the bill provides that: - State departments and agencies would not be required to make data sets available upon demand; - data licensed to the State by a person or entity would not be made public until it has been reviewed by the Treasurer pursuant to guidelines established thereby, and the person or entity licensing the data agrees to the public disclosure and to the form of such disclosure; and - proprietary and other information protected from disclosure by law or contract would not be disclosed. All disclosures would be consistent with current applicable law, including the open public records act, P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), and other State and federal laws related to security and privacy. No personally identifiable information would be posted online unless the identified individual has consented to the posting or the posting is necessary to fulfill the lawful purposes or duties of the department or agency. Under the bill, the electronic data sets that a State department or agency provides to the Treasurer for display on the Department of the Treasury's dedicated Internet website would be available to the public for informational purposes only. The department would not warrant the fitness of any data set for a particular purpose. The individual State departments and agencies would not be liable for any deficiencies in the completeness or accuracy of any data set, except when the department's or agency's conduct would constitute gross negligence, willful and wanton misconduct, or intentional misconduct. However, each State department and agency, pursuant to rules and procedures promulgated by the Treasurer, would be required to verify the accuracy of the electronic data sets it makes available to the public and, if possible, correct any errors or inaccuracies discovered therein by the department or agency providing the data set, other departments or agencies, or by members of the public.

Committee Categories

Robert Andrews (D)*,  Arthur Barclay (D)*,  Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D)*,  Jamel Holley (D)*,  Jeff Van Drew (R)*,  Benjie Wimberly (D)*,  Herbert Conaway (D),  Troy Singleton (D), 

Approved P.L.2017, c.2. (on 02/06/2017)