What's happening
This bill requires dam inspection reports to comply with public disclosure laws before being shared with municipal officials.
Why it matters
Balances transparency and confidentiality. By requiring dam inspection reports to comply with public disclosure laws before release, the bill aims to ensure that sensitive information (such as security vulnerabilities) is not inadvertently shared, while still providing key safety information to local officials.
Aligns dam safety with broader public records standards. The amendment ties dam inspection reporting to New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), making dam safety documents subject to the same vetting and exemptions as other government records, which can help standardize access and privacy practices.
Potential impact on municipal preparedness. Municipal officials will still receive critical dam safety information, but some details may be redacted, potentially affecting their ability to fully assess local risks or plan emergency responses.
Addresses privacy and security concerns. The change is likely a response to concerns that full, unredacted dam inspection reports could be misused if widely disseminated, especially given heightened awareness of infrastructure security risks.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Limit Dam Report Disclosures
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Multi-sponsor
History
- Referred to environmental conservation
- Referred to environmental conservation
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
124
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ABINANTI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to inspection reports on dam safety
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 15-0516 of the environmental conservation law, as added by chapter 17 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
1. Within thirty days of the creation by the department of any inspection report of any intermediate or high hazard dam, the department shall provide, to the chief executive officer of a municipality in which the dam is located, a copy of such report. Such report shall also be furnished to the chief executive officer of any other municipality in the county where the dam is located, or any county adjoining such county upon written request of the chief executive officer of such municipality. Provided, however, that any inspection report issued shall be vetted to conform to the existing public disclosure laws, as provided in article six of the public officers law.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and after March 28, 2006.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01953-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.