Requires Division of Consumer Affairs to create open data portal and provide certain datasets online.
Summary
Assembly Bill 3390 requires the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs to create, maintain, and update an open data portal on its website at least annually. The portal must provide public access to non-confidential statistical datasets collected by the division, including counts of licensure, registration, and certification applications; average processing times; active licenses and renewals; licensee populations by county; exam passage and failure rates for exams directly administered by boards or committees; and aggregate consumer complaint counts.
The portal must allow users to sort data by board or committee and by license type, and it must include year-by-year comparisons. The bill also requires that all posted data comply with the Open Public Records Act and other state and federal privacy and information-security laws, and it prohibits posting information that is not subject to public disclosure. The act would take effect on the first day of the eighteenth month after enactment, with advance administrative preparation allowed.
Impact
The bill would add a new statutory requirement in Title 45 directing the Division of Consumer Affairs to publish standardized public datasets online. It does not change licensing standards or disciplinary procedures directly, but it would require the division and its professional and occupational boards or committees to collect, organize, and disclose more administrative data in a public-facing format. The practical impact would be increased transparency for applicants, licensees, consumers, researchers, and policymakers, while preserving existing confidentiality and privacy protections.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests the bill was received positively in committee: the Assembly Regulated Professions Committee reported it with amendments on a 6-0 vote. No committee transcript is provided, but the unanimous vote indicates broad support for the bill’s transparency and public-information goals. The amendments suggest members were willing to refine the measure rather than oppose it.
Contention
The main policy issue appears to be balancing transparency with privacy and confidentiality. The bill expressly limits the portal to non-confidential datasets and requires compliance with OPRA and other privacy laws, indicating concern about releasing sensitive information. Another likely point of discussion is the scope and administrative burden of building and maintaining the portal, including sorting functions, year-over-year comparisons, and annual updates across multiple boards and license types. The amendments may reflect efforts to narrow or clarify those requirements, such as removing more detailed complaint-response timing language.