Bill Text: NY A09506 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Establishes that in a FOIL proceeding, the court shall assess against an agency reasonable attorneys' fees and other litigation costs incurred when a person substantially prevails unless the court finds otherwise.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 21-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-06-15 - print number 9506c [A09506 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-A09506-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         9506--C
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                     March 10, 2016
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. PAULIN, GALEF, BRINDISI, CAHILL, HIKIND, JAFFEE,
          KAVANAGH, LAVINE, MAGNARELLI, ROSENTHAL, TITONE,  ZEBROWSKI,  FAHY  --
          Multi-Sponsored  by  --  M.  of  A.  COLTON, COOK, GOTTFRIED, LUPARDO,
          PERRY, ROBINSON, THIELE, WRIGHT --  read  once  and  referred  to  the
          Committee  on  Governmental  Operations  -- committee discharged, bill
          amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
          tee -- reported and referred to the Committee on Codes -- reported and
          referred  to  the Committee on Ways and Means -- committee discharged,
          bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended  and  recommitted  to  said
          committee  --  again  reported  from  said  committee with amendments,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
        AN ACT to amend the public officers  law,  in  relation  to  freedom  of
          information requests and attorneys' fees
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 4 of section 89 of the  public
     2  officers  law, as amended by chapter 492 of the laws of 2006, is amended
     3  to read as follows:
     4    (c) [The court in such a proceeding may assess,  against  such  agency
     5  involved,  reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs reason-
     6  ably incurred by such person in any case under the  provisions  of  this
     7  section in which such person has substantially prevailed, when:
     8    i. the agency had no reasonable basis for denying access; or
     9    ii.    the  agency failed to respond to a request or appeal within the
    10  statutory time.]
    11    The court  in  such  proceeding  shall  assess,  against  such  agency
    12  involved,  reasonable attorneys' fees and other litigation costs reason-
    13  ably incurred by such person, in any case under the provisions  of  this
    14  section  in  which  such  person  has substantially prevailed unless the
    15  court finds that the position of such agency was substantially justified
    16  or that special circumstances make such assessment unjust; or the agency
    17  failed to respond to a request or  appeal  within  the  statutory  time,
    18  unless  the court finds that the agency provided substantive evidence of
    19  inability to comply.
    20    § 2.  This act shall take effect immediately.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13918-13-6