Governor Christie Signs Executive Order Ensuring Immediate Public Disclosure Of Agency Enforcement Actions

Press Release

Today, Governor Chris Christie signed an Executive Order ensuring state departments publish online final or interim orders, decisions and opinions on public websites. Executive Order No. 227 specifies and clarifies that agencies must post final decisions as required by law, as well as interim decisions, including but not limited to notices of contract violations or sanctions, enforcement actions and fines, where disclosure of this information is in the best interest of public health, safety, or welfare.

"Transparency and accessibility of agency decisions ensures accountability of State government and the entities with which it contracts for goods and services," Governor Christie said. "It is especially necessary and in the public's interest when such conduct concerns matters of public health, safety and welfare, and when these decisions involve the receipt and expenditure of public money."

This Executive Order generally requires prospective website postings to be completed and hyperlinked from an agency's homepage within one business day of the issuance of the final or interim order, decision or opinion.

The Governor is implementing these transparency and accountability reforms following this week's announcement that the state Department of Human Services fined nonprofit Horizon Health Care of New Jersey a record $15.5 million due to the charity's Medicaid contract violations, including member claims denials, processing delays and payment failures that bolstered Horizon's approximately $164 million taxpayer-funded profit off of New Jersey's Medicaid population in 2016. With respect to the health insurance providers, including repeat offender Horizon, this executive order builds upon the Governor's consumer and taxpayer protection legislation he submitted in late April to the legislature.

"These necessary transparency reforms will prevent repeat offenders like Horizon from hiding behind their vaults of money and armies of in-house and contract lobbyists, while strapping millions of people of all demographics with inadequate healthcare services and higher costs," Governor Christie said.

A copy of EO 227 is attached.

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