Bill Text: NY S01630 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Relates to publishing records of public interest by agencies and the legislature on their websites.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-12-28 - COMMITTED TO RULES [S01630 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S01630-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         1630--B
            Cal. No. 269
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 15, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced by Sens. SKOUFIS, GOUNARDES, HOYLMAN, KRUEGER, PARKER, SERRA-
          NO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed
          to  the  Committee  on  Investigations  and  Government  Operations --
          committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
          recommitted  to said committee -- reported favorably from said commit-
          tee, ordered to first and second report, ordered to a  third  reading,
          amended  and  ordered  reprinted,  retaining its place in the order of
          third reading
        AN ACT to amend the public  officers  law,  in  relation  to  publishing
          records of public interest by agencies and the state legislature
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 84 of the public officers law, as added by  chapter
     2  933 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 84. Legislative  declaration.  The  legislature  hereby finds that a
     4  free society is maintained when government is responsive and responsible
     5  to the public, and when the public is aware of governmental actions. The
     6  more open a government is with its citizenry,  the  greater  the  under-
     7  standing and participation of the public in government.
     8    As  state  and  local government services increase and public problems
     9  become more sophisticated and complex and therefore harder to solve, and
    10  with the resultant increase in revenues and expenditures, it  is  incum-
    11  bent  upon  the state and its localities to extend public accountability
    12  wherever and whenever feasible.
    13    The people's right to know the process of governmental decision-making
    14  and to review the documents and statistics leading to determinations  is
    15  basic  to our society. Access to such information should not be thwarted
    16  by shrouding it with the cloak of secrecy or confidentiality.
    17    Since the freedom of information law was first  adopted,  advances  in
    18  technology  have  enhanced  the  ability  to  gain  access to and widely
    19  disseminate public information.  Accordingly, the legislature finds that
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00936-05-9
        S. 1630--B                          2
     1  government agencies, when agencies have the ability  to  do  so,  should
     2  publish  records proactively on the internet that are of public interest
     3  and available under this article.
     4    The  legislature  therefore  declares  that government is the public's
     5  business and that the public, individually and collectively and  repres-
     6  ented  by  a free press, should have access to the records of government
     7  in accordance with the provisions of this article.
     8    § 2. Section 90 of the public officers law is renumbered section  90-a
     9  and a new section 90 is added to read as follows:
    10    §  90.  Records  of  public  interest. 1. Each agency and house of the
    11  state legislature shall publish, on its internet website, when the agen-
    12  cy or house of the state legislature has the ability to do  so,  records
    13  or  portions of records that are available to the public pursuant to the
    14  provisions of this article, and which, in consideration of their nature,
    15  content or subject matter,  are  determined  by  the  agency  to  be  of
    16  substantial interest to the public. Any such records may be removed from
    17  the  internet  website when the agency or house of the state legislature
    18  determines that they are  no  longer  of  substantial  interest  to  the
    19  public.  Any  such records may be removed from the internet website when
    20  they have reached the end of their legal retention period.  Guidance  on
    21  creating  records  in  accessible  formats and ensuring their continuing
    22  accessibility shall be available from the office for technology and  the
    23  state archives.
    24    2.  The  provisions of subdivision one of this section shall not apply
    25  to records or portions of records the disclosure of which would  consti-
    26  tute  an  unwarranted  invasion  of  personal privacy in accordance with
    27  subdivision two of section eighty-nine of this article.
    28    3. The committee on open government shall  promulgate  regulations  to
    29  effectuate this section.
    30    4.  Nothing  in this section shall be construed as to limit or abridge
    31  the power of an agency or house of  the  state  legislature  to  publish
    32  records  on  its  internet website that are subject to the provisions of
    33  this article prior to a written request or prior to a frequent request.
    34    § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    35  have become a law.