News
Dean Stuart Shapiro: There’s a hidden way politics shapes regulation. The Supreme Court should take note
To address these questions, two forces should be brought to bear. The first is expertise, which is housed at the agencies of the executive branch. The second is political responsiveness, which comes from the president. The push and pull between expertise and responsiveness is hard to balance, but few would argue that neither should be present.
VTC’s Leigh Ann Von Hagen Named Sustainability Hero
Sustainable Jersey named Leigh Ann Von Hagen a 2024 Sustainability Hero. Leigh Ann is a managing director and adjunct professor with the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center and a founder of the Planning Healthy Communities Initiative.
Controversial bill to revamp NJ public records law yanked
I would suggest there’s no pressing reason to rush anything through in a few months,” Pfeiffer told NJ Spotlight News. “The attention that’s been placed on this has given the Legislature and the governor the opportunity to really rethink how we manage public records in the state of New Jersey…”
Op-Ed–We need to fix OPRA – Let’s start here
It is widely acknowledged that OPRA needs fixing. Recent legislative hearings highlighted that. But debates about changes often involve accusations between parties, making productive discussion impossible. Reforms attempted in private by a few groups fail because they do not consider different viewpoints or unintended impacts. This causes more public distrust in government.
NJSPL – Marc Pfeiffer On Fixing the Open Public Records Act
OPRA, the state’s Open Public Records Act is showing its age. Now 22 years old, this important public policy suffers, in part, from age, neglect, unintended consequences, and unexpected use cases. Efforts to repair OPRA must recognize that the law affects all levels of New Jersey government, not just municipal.
Op-ed:The time has come to abolish the line
Professor Julia Sass Rubin has studied the impact of the line on election outcomes and policy. One of her studies found that the line conferred an average 35 percentage point advantage in primaries.
Who Picks Your Politicians?
“Elected officials are aware of the importance of the line for their reelection and the power of county party chairs to award the line,” wrote Rubin. “If an elected official does not do as the county chair wants, they can lose the line and almost surely lose the primary, ending, or severely curtailing their political careers.”
Nepo babies of N.J.
“What Egan did, that is a manifestation of how machines operate,” said Julia Sass Rubin, a Rutgers University professor who has researched politics in New Jersey. “You just appoint your successor.”
Fighting New Jersey’s Ballot Bosses
“Elected officials are aware of the importance of the line for their reelection and the power of county party chairs to award the line,” wrote Rubin. “If an elected official does not do as the county chair wants, they can lose the line and almost surely lose the primary, ending, or severely curtailing their political careers.”
Sarlo’s OPRA stink bomb needs to be defused
Pfeiffer’s take is blunt: “Bludgeons create a mess, and rapiers are surgical. This bill uses a bludgeon to try to deal with outliers that exist within OPRA.”
Mark Paul– Colorado’s fossil fuel phase-out is likely to fail without big changes, but supporters still hope it sends a message
Mark Paul, an assistant professor specializing in climate economics at Rutgers University, emphasizes the importance of complementing demand-side policies with supply-side strategies in the fight against climate change.
Fast-tracked bill would gut N.J.’s open public records law, experts warn
Marc Pfeiffer, a senior fellow at the Bloustein Local Government Research Center at Rutgers University who helped draft the current law in the early 2000s, said reform was “long overdue” but that the bill as written doesn’t solve many of OPRA’s shortcomings.
Follow Us
Upcoming Events
Undergraduate Prospective Student Information Sessions (PSIS)
VirtualThe Prospective Student Information Sessions give interested students an opportunity to learn about the undergraduate program offerings at the Bloustein School. There is an overview of each major, minor, and […]
Bloustein Research Seminar Series: Discrimination in low-income housing markets: Evidence from online rental listings
Bloustein School, Civic Square Building 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, United StatesPresented by Hector Blanco, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Rutgers University . This venue will enable our faculty to share research, build community, and extend our networks. Pizza will be […]