What's happening
This bill defines "trade secrets" and sets procedures for public utility companies to request confidentiality of certain records related to rates and charges.
Why it matters
Clarifies what counts as a "trade secret" in public utility filings. , providing a clear legal definition that could affect how much information utility companies can shield from public scrutiny.
Establishes a presumption of public access to utility rate and charge records. , but allows utilities to formally request confidentiality for specific records, requiring them to provide detailed, persuasive evidence that disclosure would cause competitive harm.
Sets out specific criteria for evaluating confidentiality requests. , such as whether disclosure would cause unfair economic damage, how widely known the information already is, and the difficulty of duplicating it, making the process more transparent and standardized.
Places the burden of proof on utility companies. to justify any confidentiality claims, and warns that failing to clearly mark trade secret information could result in public release, potentially increasing transparency and accountability in utility regulation.
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Who cares
Public utility companies
They would have to identify confidential rate-case records when submitting them and provide specific, persuasive evidence of competitive injury to justify withholding them.
Public Service Commission and Department of Public Service
They would apply a presumption of disclosure to utility rate filings and keep records submitted for confidential treatment separate and exempt from disclosure while claims are resolved.
Utility customers and consumer advocates
They could seek rate-case information under an explicit presumption of public disclosure, with utilities bearing the burden of proving an exemption.
Businesses submitting records to state agencies
Their confidentiality claims would be governed by a new statutory definition of trade secrets covering commercially used formulas, patterns, devices or compilations that provide a competitive advantage.
Headline styles
Define Trade Secret Records
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to investigations and government operations
- Referred to investigations and government operations
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1204
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 6, 2017
Introduced by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations
AN ACT to amend the public officers law and the public service law, in relation to trade secrets
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 of section 87 of the public officers law, as amended by chapter 289 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
(d) are trade secrets or are submitted to an agency by a commercial enterprise or derived from information obtained from a commercial enterprise and which if disclosed would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of the subject enterprise; for the purposes of this section, the term "trade secrets" shall mean any formula, pattern, device or compilation of information which is used in a commercial enterprise, and which provides an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not know or have access to it;
§ 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 114-b to read as follows:
§ 114-b. Records containing trade secrets or confidential commercial information. 1. Any information filed with the commission by a public utility company in connection with any proceeding relating to any rate or charge to be imposed on customers shall be presumed to be subject to public disclosure in accordance with article six of the public officers law.
2. (a) Any public utility company submitting records in connection with any proceeding relating to any rate or charge imposed on customers requesting trade secret or confidential commercial status for all or a portion of the information contained therein shall submit such records to the department and shall clearly identify the records or portions
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01946-01-7
S. 1204 2
thereof considered to be confidential. Where the request itself contains information which if disclosed would defeat the purpose for which the exception is sought, such information shall also be excepted from disclosure until a final determination on the request is made.
(b) A public utility company seeking to exempt information from disclosure pursuant to paragraph (d) of subdivision two of section eighty-seven of the public officers law shall submit such request to the department in writing and shall, in all cases, present specific, persuasive evidence that disclosure will cause it to suffer a competitive injury. Factors to be considers include, but are not limited to:
(i) the extent to which the disclosure can be demonstrated to cause unfair economic or competitive damage to the public utility company;
(ii) the extent to which the information is known by others and can involve similar activities;
(iii) The demonstrated worth or value of the information to the public utility company;
(iv) the degree of difficulty and cost of developing the information;
(v) the ease or difficulty associated with obtaining or duplicating the information by others without the public utility company's consent; and
(vi) other provisions of statute or regulation specifically exempting the information from disclosure.
3. Information submitted as provided in this section shall be exempted from disclosure and be maintained apart by the department from all other records until fifteen days after the entitlement to such exemption has been finally determined or such further time as ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
4. The public utility company requesting exemption from disclosure pursuant to this section shall in all proceedings have the burden of proving entitlement to the exemption.
5. Failure to identify trade secret or confidential commercial information at the time of submission may make the information accessible to others without notice to the public utility company unless a specific exemption from disclosure by other statutes or regulations pertains to the information.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public officers law and the public service law, in relation to trade secrets
Purpose
To limit the ability of a utility company to claim trade secret exemption for documents submitted to the PSC in support of a rate hike and to define the term "trade secret" in the state's FOIL law.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. Amends paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 of section 87 of the public officers law to establish a definition for the term "trade secrets."
Section 2. Adds a new section 114-b to the public service law to establish a presumption that any records submitted by utility companies to the Public Service Commission in connection with any proceeding relating to any rate or charge to be imposed on customers shall be subject to disclosure pursuant to Article 6 of the public officers law (FOIL). This section also establishes a procedure for companies to seek exemption from disclosure for any records that may contain trade secrets or confidential commercial information.
Section 3. Effective date.
Justification
The Public Service Commission (PSC) is responsible for reviewing rate increase requests from utility companies. Often times, however, utility companies will submit incomplete and/or heavily redacted records to the PSC as justification for the increase they're seeking, claiming an exemption for trade secrets or confidential commercial information from disclosure under the state's Freedom of Information Law statute. New Yorkers already pay some of the highest utility rates in the country and it's unthinkable that a utility company should be able to increase rates to consumers without providing ample justification for such increase. The ratepayers of the state deserve to know that the rates and charges they pay are fair and reasonable and utility companies should not be able to hide behind trade secret or confidential commercial information protections.
Legislative history
2015-16: 52187 - Investigations and Gov't ops
Fiscal implications
None to state.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.