Bill Text: NY A00121 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relates to publishing records of public interest by agencies and the legislature on their websites.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 31-4)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to governmental operations [A00121 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A00121-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           121
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M. of A. BUCHWALD, GALEF, SANTABARBARA, GOTTFRIED, NIOU,
          SEAWRIGHT, D'URSO, LAWRENCE, ARROYO, BLAKE, COOK, GOODELL,  DAVILA  --
          Multi-Sponsored  by  --  M. of A. ORTIZ, PAULIN, SIMON, THIELE -- read
          once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations
        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
    20  government agencies, to the extent practicable, should  publish  records
    21  proactively  on  the  internet that are of public interest and available
    22  under this article.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00936-01-9

        A. 121                              2
     1    The legislature therefore declares that  government  is  the  public's
     2  business  and that the public, individually and collectively and repres-
     3  ented by a free press, should have access to the records  of  government
     4  in accordance with the provisions of this article.
     5    §  2. Section 90 of the public officers law is renumbered section 90-a
     6  and a new section 90 is added to read as follows:
     7    § 90. Records of public interest. 1. Each  agency  and  house  of  the
     8  state  legislature shall publish, on its internet website, to the extent
     9  practicable, records or portions of records that are  available  to  the
    10  public pursuant to the provisions of this article, and which, in consid-
    11  eration  of  their  nature, content or subject matter, are determined by
    12  the agency to be of substantial interest to the public. Any such records
    13  may be removed from the internet website when the agency or house of the
    14  state legislature determines that they  are  no  longer  of  substantial
    15  interest  to the public. Any such records may be removed from the inter-
    16  net website when they have reached the  end  of  their  legal  retention
    17  period.  Guidance on creating records in accessible formats and ensuring
    18  their continuing accessibility shall be available from  the  office  for
    19  technology and the state archives.
    20    2.  The  provisions of subdivision one of this section shall not apply
    21  to records or portions of records the disclosure of which would  consti-
    22  tute  an  unwarranted  invasion  of  personal privacy in accordance with
    23  subdivision two of section eighty-nine of this article.
    24    3. The committee on open government shall  promulgate  regulations  to
    25  effectuate this section.
    26    4.  Nothing  in this section shall be construed as to limit or abridge
    27  the power of an agency or house of  the  state  legislature  to  publish
    28  records  on  its  internet website that are subject to the provisions of
    29  this article prior to a written request or prior to a frequent request.
    30    § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    31  have become a law.
feedback