Bill Text: NY S02344 | 2019-2020 | 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: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S02344 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S02344-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          2344
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 24, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sen. KAVANAGH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
          ment 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, 2022.
    19    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01291-01-9