Bill Text: NY S00623 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Authorizes and directs the committee on open government to study proactive disclosure as a means of increasing transparency and access to government information.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-03-12 - referred to governmental operations [S00623 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S00623-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           623

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 5, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sens. KAVANAGH, ADDABBO -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and  when  printed  to be committed to the Committee on Investigations
          and Government Operations

        AN ACT authorizing and directing the committee  on  open  government  to
          study  proactive  disclosure as a means of increasing transparency and
          access to government information

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Legislative  findings.  The  legislature  finds  that the
     2  current freedom of information law, enacted in 1977,  has  served  as  a
     3  critical  vehicle under which the public has gained access to records of
     4  state and local governmental entities.  The  legislature  further  finds
     5  that  the freedom of information law places the burden on the individual
     6  to request information from an agency,  but  that  the  use  of  current
     7  information  technology, combined with a commitment to proactive disclo-
     8  sure, has the potential to provide information to the public to an  even
     9  greater degree than does the current law.
    10    § 2. The New York state committee on open government is hereby author-
    11  ized  and  directed to: (a) study the feasibility of requiring agencies,
    12  as defined in subdivision 3 of section 86 of the public officers law, to
    13  proactively disclose documents that are available under article 6 of the
    14  public officers law; (b) make specific findings and  legislative  recom-
    15  mendations  relating  to mandatory proactive disclosure by agencies; (c)
    16  estimate the costs or savings of proactive disclosure;  and  (d)  report
    17  its  findings to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and
    18  the speaker of the assembly no later than January 31, 2026.
    19    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.


         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03031-01-3