Byron M. Baer (October 18, 1929 – June 24, 2007) was an American Democratic Party politician from New Jersey who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature. He served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1972 to 1993 and in the State Senate from 1994 to 2005, where he represented the 37th Legislative District. In the early 1970s, Baer was the primary author of the Open Public Records Act, New Jersey's Sunshine Law, and was an advocate of open government throughout his legislative career. Career In the upper house, the Senator filled a variety of different leadership roles including as Democratic Senate Leader Ex Officio (2002–2003), Minority Leader Pro Tempore (1996–2001), and as Senate Leader Ex Officio, a post he held from 2004. As Senator, Baer served on a variety of Senate Committees including: Legislative Services Commission, Joint Committee on Public Schools, State Government, and Judiciary. He was also the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Before serving as a State Senator, Baer served 21 years in the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature, the New Jersey General Assembly, from 1972 to 1993. While in the Assembly, Baer served in a variety of different posts including Minority Leader Pro Tempore (1992–1993), Deputy Speaker (1991), Associate Assembly Leader (1990), and Assistant Minority Leader (1986–1989). In February 1993, Baer announced that he would run for the seat in the New Jersey Senate being vacated by Matthew Feldman. Together with Assembly running mates Loretta Weinberg and Ken Zisa, who was on the ballot for Baer's former Assembly seat, Baer won election to the Senate. Baer attended Cornell University, New York University and Columbia University, but never received a degree. Baer had a short-lived career in special effects, which included work on the horror classic, The Brain That Wouldn't Die. In 1961, Baer was arrested as a Freedom Rider at the Greyhound Bus station in Jackson, Mississippi, and served six weeks in the Mississippi State Penitentiary. In 1965, he participated in the Selma to Montgomery marches. Baer advised and befriended Martin Luther King Jr. Because of this, Baer served, from 2002 to 2004, on New Jersey's standing Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Commission, which works to raise public awareness of King's ideals and philosophy. Senator Baer resigned from the New Jersey Senate effective September 8, 2005, due to health reasons. In a letter to Acting Governor of New Jersey Richard