A New Jersey assembly committee has endorsed a bill that would make obtaining information about businesses through the Open Public Records Act more difficult, despite objections from government watchdog groups, the press, and environmentalists. The proposed changes, according to the bill's sponsor, are intended to protect businesses from terrorism. The bill allows the Attorney General to deny the release of information about businesses, if the business could be the target of a terrorist attack or if the release of information would increase the chance of an attack. Opponents of the proposal argue that restricting access to records will keep people in the dark about environmental and occupational safety issues.

Ran 9/20/04