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Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 5
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to rules
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Requires entities that submit records to state agencies that are excepted from disclosure under FOIL to periodically re-apply for the exception
In Senate Committee · Investigations And Government Operations · Sponsor Steven Englebright
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S7816
Title of bill
An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to requiring entities that submit records to state agencies that are excepted from disclosure under the freedom of information law to periodically re-apply for the exception
Purpose
The purpose of this bill is to provide for greater disclosure under the Freedom of Information Law.
Summary of provisions
This bill would require that, subsequent to the effective date, when an entity submits a request to a state agency to have trade secrets excluded from release under the Freedom of Information Law, the request must specifically identify which portions of the record are to be excluded. The requester would also be able to set an expiration date for the exclusions, provided that such a date is not greater than 3 years. If the state agency agrees to the exclusions and the submitter did not set an expiration date, after 3 years the submitter must apply to the agency for a 3 year extension, upon which the agency must make a determination as to if the exclusions should be extended. If the submitter does not apply for the extension, the exclusion will be considered to have expired. The bill also makes some technical changes to the Public Meetings Law.
Justification
Under current law, when an entity submits records to a state agency, that entity may identify portions of those records that should be excluded from release under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) as trade secrets. If approved, the exclusion remains in force until a FOIL request is made for those records. The agency must then contact the entity to determine if the records must continue to be withheld or if they can be released. If no FOIL request is made, the exclusion remains in force indefinitely.
This bill would streamline this process by requiring entities to reapply for the exclusion every 3 years. If an entity does not re-apply, the exclusion is considered to be expired and the document can be released when a FOIL request is made.
Legislative history
2011: A.5601A - Passed Assembly; Referred to Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee.
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.