New Jersey Gets Kudos for Online Records Access
By Jon Whiten • Mar 16th, 2009 • Category: Blog, News
Teams of surveyors recently scanned government websites in every state to look for 20 different kinds of public records, and NJ ranked second behind Texas in how many of those it provides. The state gives 18 of the 20 categories — the only ones it doesn’t provide are fictitious business name registrations and death certificates. “Death certificates are apparently a revenue source for many states, as they charge relatives and ‘legitimately’ interested parties for copies of the records,” the report states.
The study was undertaken by a consortium of open government groups as part of Sunshine Week, an annual event created to “open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information.” Sunshine Week began today and will end on Friday.
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Jon Whiten is the founding editor of the Jersey City Independent; he now works for a public-policy nonprofit in Trenton.
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