Bill Text: NY S07835 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Permits assessment of certain fees and costs upon wrongful denial of access to records under the freedom of information law when either the person has substantially prevailed and the agency had no such reasonable basis for denying access, or if the agency failed to respond within the statutory time, or when the record is substantially disclosed and the agency lacked a reasonable basis in law for withholding the record.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-12-28 - COMMITTED TO RULES [S07835 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S07835-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7835

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 25, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. JACKSON -- 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  permitting
          assessment of certain fees and costs upon wrongful denial of access to
          records under the freedom of information law

          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 453 of the laws of 2017, is amended
     3  to read as follows:
     4    (c) The court in such a proceeding[: (i)]  may  assess,  against  such
     5  agency  involved,  reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs
     6  reasonably incurred by such person in any case under the  provisions  of
     7  this [section in which] article in which:
     8    (i)  such  person  has substantially prevailed[,] and [when] the court
     9  finds that such agency had no such reasonable basis for denying  access;
    10  or
    11    (ii)  the  agency  failed to respond to a request or appeal within the
    12  statutory time; [and (ii) shall assess, against  such  agency  involved,
    13  reasonable   attorney's  fees  and  other  litigation  costs  reasonably
    14  incurred by such person in any case under the provisions of this section
    15  in which such person has substantially prevailed] or
    16    (iii) the record is substantially disclosed following  the  initiation
    17  of  such  proceeding but prior to a judicial determination and the court
    18  finds that the agency [had no] lacked a  reasonable  basis  in  law  for
    19  [denying access] withholding the record.
    20    Nothing  contained  herein  shall  be construed to abridge or deny any
    21  right or remedy available under article eighty-six of the civil practice
    22  law and rules.
    23    § 2. This act shall  take  effect  on  the  first  of  September  next
    24  succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14780-01-0