Similarly, North Carolina scrapped its old public record law for a new one six years ago. It gives broad access to citizens. George W. Miller Jr., a North Carolina legislator who helped write the law, said increased access hasn't heaved a wrench into the workings of government. North Carolina's original law was much like New Jersey's in putting the burden on a citizen to prove a record should be open. Miller said North Carolina has shifted the burden to officials to prove it should be closed.
New Jersey falls short in other areas of public access.
The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit government watchdog group, ranked New Jersey in the bottom third when it comes to requiring legislators to divulge private financial interests to the public. The state's Open Public Meetings Act, which requires that formal action and discussion on most items be done in public, is also under review. Even New Jersey's own court system, which compiles sensitive personal information on those in the legal system, recognizes a problem as the Right to Know law grows increasingly outdated. The Information Systems Policy Committee was created to recommend an electronic access policy for the New Jersey Judiciary. For now, New Jersey's public access law continues to thwart taxpayers.