Bill Text: NY S07379 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides press access to open meetings of an agency or authority and requires notice of such meetings to local governments.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-22 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S07379 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S07379-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7379

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 22, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  MAY  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
          ment Operations

        AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to providing  press
          access to open meetings of an agency or authority

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

     1    Section 1. Section 102 of the public officers law is amended by adding
     2  a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
     3    4. "Professional journalist" means one who, for gain or livelihood, is
     4  engaged in gathering, preparing, collecting, writing, editing,  filming,
     5  taping or photographing of news intended for a newspaper, magazine, news
     6  agency,  press  association or wire service or other professional medium
     7  or agency which has as one of its regular functions the  processing  and
     8  researching  of  news  intended  for  dissemination  to the public; such
     9  person shall be someone performing such function  either  as  a  regular
    10  employee or as one otherwise professionally affiliated for gain or live-
    11  lihood with such medium of communication.
    12    §  2. The public officers law is amended by adding a new section 103-a
    13  to read as follows:
    14    § 103-a. Press access. Open meetings of an agency or authority, except
    15  for executive sessions as provided for in this article,  shall  be  open
    16  and  accessible to professional journalists and members of the press. No
    17  policies or rules may be adopted restricting such access.
    18    § 3. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 104 of the public  officers  law,
    19  as  amended  by  chapter  302 of the laws of 2016, are amended and a new
    20  subdivision 7 is added to read as follows:
    21    1. Public notice of the time and place of a meeting scheduled at least
    22  one week prior thereto shall be given or electronically  transmitted  to
    23  the  news  media and local governments and shall be conspicuously posted
    24  in one or more designated public locations at least [seventy-two]  nine-
    25  ty-six  hours  or  four  business days before such meeting, whichever is
    26  greater.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14677-01-0
        S. 7379                             2

     1    2. Public notice of the time and place of every other meeting shall be
     2  given or electronically transmitted, to the extent practicable,  to  the
     3  news  media  and  local governments and shall be conspicuously posted in
     4  one or more designated public locations at a reasonable time prior ther-
     5  eto.
     6    7. A draft agenda for any public meeting shall be conspicuously posted
     7  to the agency's website no later than twenty-four hours before any meet-
     8  ing scheduled in accordance with subdivision one or two of this section.
     9    §  4.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
    10  have become a law.