Bill > S3155

Introduced Session

The bill would bar public entities and public employees from entering into any agreement to settle claims or actions where the public employee asserts the protections of the "Conscientious Employee Protection Act," P.L.1986, c.105 (C.34:19-1 et seq., informally referred to as the "Whistleblower Act"), if: (1) the agreement provides for the terms and conditions to be confidential; or (2) the purpose or the effect of such agreement is to conceal information relating to any claim or action concerning the public interest. Under the bill, such settlement agreements constitute public records under the open public records laws, P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) and P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5 et al.). The bill provides for an exception for agreements involving matters of national security. Under current law, set out in P.L.1989, c.336 (C.2A:82-46), the name, address, and identity of a victim of a sex crime or child abuse who was under the age of 18 at the time of the offense shall not appear on the indictment, complaint, or any other public record. The bill specifically provides that the provisions of the bill are not intended to affect this requirement. This bill would also require the Attorney General to make such agreements publicly available online. The bill would require that a list of the settlement agreements be in a searchable format in a prominent location on the department's website. The information would include: (1) the date the parties entered into the agreement; (2) the names of the parties; (3) a description of the claims; (4) the total amount each party is obligated to pay; and (5) the total amount of compensation for any outside legal counsel. In addition, the bill provides that any other agreement to settle a claim or action where a public entity is a party would be considered a public record within the meaning of P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) and P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5 et al.), except for matters involving national security.

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Richard Codey (D)*,  Loretta Weinberg (D)*,  Joe Vitale (D), 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee (on 05/08/2017)