A proposed rule in New Jersey would keep important health and safety information secret, possibly endangering residents that live near chemical plants, or workers that are employed at a number of different facilities. On Oct. 18, the state's Attorney General's Office published proposed regulations modifying access to records, which, according to the proposal, is intended to "strike a balance between the need to allow read access to government records and the need to deny access to government records where such access would materially diminish the State's ability to protect and defend the State and its people against sabotage and terrorism." New Jersey's Open Public Records Act, which took effect on July 7, 2002, requires all government records be disclosed unless specifically exempted. Around the same time, former Gov. James E. McGreevey issued Executive Order No. 21 (on July 8, 2002) to provide exemptions to the new Open Public Records Act. The executive order excludes from disclosure at any level of government: Any government record where the inspection, examination or copying of that record would substantially interfere with the State's ability to protect and defend the State and its citizens against acts of sabotage or terrorism, or which, if disclosed, would materially increase the risk or consequences of potential acts of sabotage or terrorism. The executive order also requires the Attorney General, in consultation with the Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force, to develop more specific rules on what "government records shall be deemed to be confidential." The proposed rule issued on Oct. 18 is to implement this directive. The proposed rule would limit access to information providing details about buildings including airports, tunnels, stadiums, and emergency-response and hazardous waste storage facilities. The information could range from security plans for existing sites to proposed development plans. The rule could also restrict workers and concerned citizens from knowing what chemicals are stored in their workplaces and neighborhoods. The proposed rule also provides exemptions to disclosure in nine other areas, ranging from information about contagious diseases in livestock to security of computer networks to various uses of geographic information systems (GIS). Additionally, the rule proposes to exempt from disclosure sensitive but unclassified information described under Section 892 of the Homeland Security Act. Under the proposed rule, records identified as exempt from disclosure would only be released if the head of a cabinet-level agency and the state's Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force determine that the recipient has a "bona fide need for public access to the records and imposes appropriate limitations or conditions upon such authorized disclosure." Rick Engler, the director of New Jersey work Environment Council, believes, "[t]he rules will do more to hurt public safety than to minimize the impact of terrorists." Many public interest groups assert that maintaining a right to know environment best ensures public safety. The government should be required to disclosure information except when information falls within clearly defined categories such as national security and privacy information. This method informs the public and allows them to participate in the effort to make their communities safer. The proposed rule is open for public comment until Dec. 17.