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Makes the port authority of New York and New Jersey subject to certain freedom of information laws
In Assembly Committee · Governmental Operations · Sponsor Amy Paulin
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S6593
Title of bill
An act to amend the public officers law and chapter 154 of the laws of 1921 relating to the port authority of New York and New Jersey, in relation to making the port authority of New York and New Jersey subject to certain freedom of information laws
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill, the Port Authority Open Government Act, subjects the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey to New York State's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) and New Jersey's Open Public Records Act (OPRA).
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 amends Section 86 of the Public Officers Law to explicitly include the Port Authority of New York & Jersey in the definition of "agency" for the purposes of FOIL.
Section 2 amends Chapter 154 of the laws of 1921 to add a new Article XV-B stating that the Port Authority is subject to the provisions of FOIL and OPRA.
Section 3 states that the bill shall take effect upon the enactment of legislation having an identical effect by the state of New Jersey, or, if such legislation has already been enacted, immediately.
Justification
Under prevailing case law, the Port Authority is not subject either to New York's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) or New Jersey's Open Public Records Act (OPRA). Instead, requests from the public and press for government records from the Port Authority are considered under the Port Authority's self-promulgated internal "Freedom of Information Code" (FOI Code).
The Port Authority's FOI Code is an insufficient guarantee of public access. Because it is policy, rather than law, it can be altered without legislative oversight, and inconvenient or politically sensitive requests can be ignored without consequence, as no state courts appear to have clear jurisdiction to appeal a denial of an FOI Code request.
As recent events have demonstrated, there is a pressing need for transparency and accountability at the Port Authority in order to help restore public confidence in the agency. This bill will close a loophole in the law that exempts the Port Authority from standard access to government records and ensure that the public has the same right to information from the Port Authority as it does from any other state agency or authority. The New York Department of State's Committee on Open Government supports legislation that would accomplish this goal as stated in its December 2013 report Solidifying a Culture of Openness.
Any laws affecting the Port Authority must be enacted by both New York and New Jersey. This bill explicitly subjects the Port Authority to both FOIL and OPRA, having the same effect as legislation that has already been introduced in New Jersey.
Prior legislative history
None.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
The bill shall take effect upon the enactment of legislation having an identical effect by the state of New Jersey, or, if such legislation has already been enacted, immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.