Assembly Democrats

ASSEMBLY APPROVES MEASURE TO NAME SUNSHINE LAW IN BYRON BAER'S HONOR

(TRENTON) - Legislation Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr., Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle and Assemblyman Gordon M. Johnson sponsored to rename the Open Public Meetings Act in honor of its sponsor, retired state Senator Byron M. Baer, cleared the General Assembly today.ASSEMBLY DEMOCRATS
NEWS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE:
June 22, 2006

CONTACT:
Assembly Speaker Roberts
(856) 742-7600
Assemblywoman Vainieri Huttle
(201) 541-1118
Assemblyman Johnson
(201) 541-1118
James Sverapa IV
(609) 292-7065

ASSEMBLY APPROVES MEASURE TO NAME SUNSHINE LAW IN BYRON BAER'S HONOR

(TRENTON) - Legislation Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr., Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle and Assemblyman Gordon M. Johnson sponsored to rename the Open Public Meetings Act in honor of its sponsor, retired state Senator Byron M. Baer, cleared the General Assembly today.

"Few men in their lifetime have done more to advance the cause of open government in New Jersey than Byron Baer," said Roberts (D-Camden). "Senator Baer's impressive and colorful legacy deserves to be recognized and preserved."

The legislation (A-3251) would rename the Open Public Meetings Act, commonly referred to as "The Sunshine Law," in honor of Senator Baer and his efforts. As an Assemblyman, in 1975, Baer was instrumental in the enactment of this groundbreaking legislation, which greatly enhanced public access to state and local government decision making and which sparked a nationwide trend toward making government-held information more available to the public.

"Senator Baer is a man and a legislator truly ahead of his time," said Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen). "He has been at the forefront of nearly every human rights, civil rights, and good government reform effort in this state over the last quarter century."

"It was a deep privilege to serve alongside a man who believed so strongly in the civil rights movement that he marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King and was jailed for over a month for his role as a Freedom Rider in the 1960's," said Johnson (D-Bergen). "It was that kind of belief that led him to sponsor our Sunshine Law. And it's that kind of passion that gives him this much-deserved distinction."

The Assembly unanimously passed the measure. It now heads to the Governor, who may sign it, veto it, or modify it in the form of a conditional veto.

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