Provides that the state legislature be subject to the same freedom of information laws as other state agencies; repealer

Section 7 repeals public officers law § 88, which currently sets forth the public's ability to access state legislative records.

Sections 8 through 11 make conforming changes to various provisions of public officers law § 89.

Section 12 makes a conforming change to environmental conservation law 170-0113.

Section 13 makes a conforming change to executive law § 713.

Section 14 makes this act effective immediately upon enactment.

Justification

New York State's FOIL statute, as it applies to the State Legislature, is in need of reform. The FOIL provisions covering state and local agencies other than the Legislature (Public Officers Law § 87) provide that a requested document is presumed to be available to the public, unless the document (or information within the document) fall into a specific, statutory exclusion. In contrast, Public Officers Law § 88, which covers the State Legislature, sets forth a list of specific legislative documents that the public is entitled to. If a record is not on this list, the public cannot obtain it through FOIL.

Under current law, the public is entitled to receive only the following documents from the Legislature: a)bills and amendments, fiscal notes, introducers' bill memoranda, resolutions and amendments thereto, and index records; (b) messages received from the Governor or the other house of the Legislature, and home rule messages;(c) legislative notification of the proposed adoption of rules by an agency; (d) transcripts or minutes, if prepared, and journal records of public sessions including meetings of committees and subcommittees and public hearings, with the records of attendance of members thereat and records of any votes taken; (e) internal or external audits and statistical or factual tabulations of or with respect to, material otherwise available for public inspection and copying pursuant to this section or any other applicable provision of law; (f) administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect members of the public; (g) final reports and formal opinions submitted to the Legislature; (h) final reports or recommendations and minority or dissenting reports and opinions of members of committees, subcommittees, or commissions of the legislature; (i) any other files, records, papers or documents required by law to be made available for public inspection and copying; j)external audits conducted pursuant to Legislative Law § 92 and schedules issued pursuant to Legislative Law § 92(2).

This bill would bring the Legislature into Public Officers Law § 87, with its presumption that documents should be available to the public. Legislative information of all types, not merely the items enumerated above, would be presumed to be available. This is an important reform that would enable the public to better understand-and become more involved in-the legislative process, and to better hold their state legislators accountable.

Legislative history

2013-2014: S176/A2015- REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS/Referred to Governmental Operations 2011-2012: S48/A9069- REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS/Referred to Governmental Operations 2009-2010: S5300/A431- REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS/Referred to Governmental Operations 2007-2008: S1156/A10157- (Valesky)- REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS/Referred to Governmental Operations

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.