NEW JERSEY
PRIVACY STUDY
COMMISSION
By: Catherine Starghill, Esq.
Privacy Study Commission, Staff
Creation of the Commission

The Privacy Study Commission was created under
the Open Public Records Act (N.J.S. 47:1A-1 et
seq.).
The Open Public Records Act

The Open Public Records Act (OPRA) defines the
state’s policy that government records, with
certain exceptions, should be readily accessible to
the public for inspection, examination, and
copying.
 While limitations on the public’s right of access
should be decided in the public’s favor, public
agencies are required to keep a citizen’s personal
information from public access when that access
would violate the citizen’s reasonable expectation
of privacy.
Creation of the Commission

The Commission was established as a temporary
body of 13 members – 9 appointed by the
Governor and 4 appointed by the Legislature.
Commission Members

Appointments coordinated to provide a balance
– Advocates for citizen privacy interests
– Advocates for increased access to government
records
Commission Members


Larry Litwin, Chairman
Professor of Public
Relations & Advertising at
Rowan University
Thomas Cafferty
General Counsel of the NJ
Press Association

George Cevasco
Municipal Clerk for the
Township of Brick

Rosemary KarcherReavey
Former Superior Court
Judge in Middlesex
County
Commission Members

Jack McEntee
Detective with the Newark
Police Department

Richard DeAngelis, Jr.
Attorney specializing in
legislative and regulatory
affairs

Pamela McCauley
Director of the Office of
Victim-Witness Advocacy
in the Essex County
Prosecutor’s Office

Grayson Barber
Attorney specializing in
privacy rights advocacy
Commission Members

Karen Sutcliffe
Attorney specializing in
municipal law

John Hutchison
Research Director of the
Senate Republican Office

H. Lawrence Wilson, Jr.
Retired Sergeant of
Investigators in the Ocean
County Prosecutor’s
Office
Commission Members

Edithe A. Fulton
President of the NJ
Education Association

William Kearns
General Counsel of the NJ
League of Municipalities
Purpose of the Commission

Legislatively mandated to study the privacy issues
raised by the collection, processing, use and
dissemination of information by public agencies

Balance
– Need for openness in government
– Concerns for personal privacy and security
Purpose of the Commission

Privacy questions:
– What are the privacy issues raised by the way
government agencies collect, process, use and
disseminate information?
– How is openness in government affected by
privacy issues?
– How should we deal with these issues to
safeguard the privacy rights of individuals?
Commission Structure

The Commission established the following
subcommittees:
– Public Interest
– Data Practices in New Jersey
– Data Practices in Other Jurisdictions
– Commercial Use
– Technology
Subcommittees
Public Interest
– Consider the views of the public as individuals and
groups representing various interests on the issue of
how and where to strike a balance between openness
and privacy
– Host public hearings throughout the State
Subcommittees
Data Practices in New Jersey
– Develop an understanding of the types of personal data
collected by public agencies in New Jersey
– Consider the methods used to collect data
– Assess the data’s current and potential use
– Contemplate the views of public administrators on the
data’s management
Subcommittees
Data Practices in Other Jurisdictions
– Learn the strategies employed by other governments to
safeguard the privacy rights of its citizens
– Benchmark other states with best practices in privacy
protection – CA, CN, HI, FL, and IL
– Benchmark the U.S. and European Union
Subcommittees
Commercial Use
– Identify and consider the commercial uses of
government information, both positive and negative
(Positive Users – credit ratings agencies and employers)
(Negative Users – identify thieves)
Subcommittees
Technology
– Examine how technology facilitates the collection of
data
– Examine how data can be manipulated within
government
– Examine how data is used when made available to the
public
– Examine the effect on government data when it is
combined with data from other sources (data mining)
Additional Mandate

“… study the issue of whether and to what extent
the home address and home telephone number of
citizens should be made publicly available by
public agencies …”

Separate subcommittee to address special directive
Result of Research -

Recommend specific measures

Better safeguard privacy rights of NJ citizens
Commission Meetings:

All meetings are held at 10:30 AM –
Department of Community Affairs–Conference Room 129
101 S. Broad Street (corner of Broad & Front Streets)
Trenton, New Jersey 08625

2003 Meeting Dates –
July 25, 2003
October 17, 2003
September 19, 2003
November 14, 2003
December 19, 2003
Public Hearings



June 10, 2003 – 4:00 PM
Mercer County Community College (West Windsor)
Room: CM-110 Communications Building
June 16, 2003 – 4:00 PM
Rowan University (Glassboro)
Student Center - Ballroom
June 17, 2003 – 4:00 PM
Montclair State College (Upper Montclair)
Student Center - Ballroom
Contact Information:
The Privacy Study Commission may be contacted:
privacy@dca.state.nj.us
and at
www.nj.gov/privacy