(TRENTON) – Legislation Assembly Democrats John Burzichelli and L. Grace Spencer sponsored to help save taxpayer money and improve government efficiency by requiring nonpartisan legislative staff transmit many notices and reports electronically was approved by the full Assembly on Thursday, 77-0.
The bill (A-1898) would require the Office of Legislative Services to transmit only by electronic means certain notices and reports when transmission is to a member of the Legislature, an officer or employee of the Senate or General Assembly of the Legislature, an employee of a member of the Legislature, or an officer or employee of the Office of Legislative Services.
The requirement would apply to any notice or report of a meeting, hearing, proceeding, or activity of the Senate or General Assembly, or a standing reference committee, joint committee, special committee, task force, or commission thereof.
“It’s 2014, and electronic communication is, for the most part, the preferred and standard form of communication,” said Burzichelli (D-Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland). “Besides that, electronic documents are more easily accessible to the public, so this bill just makes common sense in this day and age.”
“This bill is fiscally responsible and good government,” said Spencer (D-Essex). “It should save the taxpayers some money and make government operations more efficient and accessible to the public, and those are all good things.”
Transmission by other means may be required, or permitted upon request, by the Rules of the Senate or the General Assembly, a written directive of the Executive Director of the Office of Legislative Services, or a directive adopted by the Legislative Services Commission. If transmission by other means is required or permitted by a directive, the Executive Director when issuing the directive or the Legislative Services Commission when adopting the directive, would have to state the reason for the issuance or adoption and the need for the transmission by other means.
The requirement for electronic transmission would not apply to the office of the State Auditor or to the Legislative Counsel for services performed for the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards, nor to notices or reports submitted to the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the General Assembly.
The bill was released by the Assembly Regulatory Oversight Committee on October 2.