What's happening
This bill requires state agencies to notify farm owners when a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request is made for their records.
Why it matters
Direct notification. Farm owners/operators will now be promptly informed in writing whenever a FOIL request is made about their records, giving them early awareness of who is seeking information and what is being requested.
Transparency about requestors. The agency must disclose the name and address of the person or entity making the request, which could help farm owners assess the intent behind the inquiry and prepare accordingly.
Time-sensitive action. Agencies are required to notify farm owners/operators within five business days of a FOIL request, ensuring that they are not left in the dark during the records disclosure process.
Potential for increased privacy and advocacy. By knowing when and what information is being sought, farm owners can potentially raise concerns, seek legal counsel, or advocate for redaction of sensitive details before their information is released.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Notify Farms of Info Requests
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to agriculture
- Referred to agriculture
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
121
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. ORTT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture
AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to requests for public information regarding certain farm operations
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new section 308-b to read as follows:
§ 308-b. Notification of FOIL request. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon the request of any person or entity for any records of a farm operation, as defined in section three hundred one of this article, from an agency or other state entity; the agency or state entity of which the request has been made shall inform the owner and/or operator of such farm operation in writing that a request for records concerning their farm operation has been submitted, provide a description of records requested and provide the name and address of the person or entity requesting such records. Notification of the farm operation is to be made by the agency or state entity within five business days of submission of the records request by the person or entity seeking such records.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately and the commissioner of agriculture and markets is hereby authorized to add, amend and/or repeal any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02380-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to requests for public information regarding certain farm operations
Purpose or general idea of the bill
To require notification to the owners and/or operators of a farm opera- tion when information about their farm operation has been requested via the Freedom of Information Law from a state agency or entity.
Summary of specific provisions
This bill amends Agriculture and Markets Law to create a new Section 308-b that requires the owner or operator of a farm business as defined in Section 301 of Agriculture and Markets Law to be notified that their farm records or business information has been requested from a state agency/entity via FOIL upon submission of the FOIL request to the state agency/entity.
Read the full memo (778 words)
The state agency or entity of which the request has been made shall inform the farm owner or operator in writing that a request for records concerning their farm operation has been submitted, provide a description of records requested and provide the name and address of the person or entity requesting such records. The farm owner or operator is to be notified within five business days of submission of the records request via FOIL inquiry.
Existing statute
Currently, state law (Article 6 Public Officers Law 89) dictates that a state agency/entity is required to notify a farm or any business that its records are being released under a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request when:
1) The records are actually requested via FOIL by a third party, AND
2) Upon initial submission of their business information to the state agency, the farm has indicated that they are requesting the state agency/entity consider their information confidential.
If these two conditions are met, the agency/entity will contact the farm and have them justify their position that their business information should be exempted from FOIL release because it is confidential and its release could put their business in a competitive disadvantage with their peers, consistent with the allowable statutory exceptions as defined in Public Officers Law (POL) § 87(2) (a-i). The state agency/entity must then determine whether the farm or business' request for exception is valid and either approve or reject the business' request for exemption from FOIL release.
If the agency agrees with the farm or business and denies release of the requested information under the FOIL, the requesting party may sue the agency for violating the FOIL. If the agency disagrees with the farm or business and releases the information, the farm or business may sue the
agency stating that it should fall under the allowable exceptions to FOIL release listed under POL § 67(2)(a-i).
Justification
This bill ensures that our family farms are alerted to the fact that their business information has been requested under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) when the inquiry has been made. This bill in no way hinders the release of FOIL-derived information. It merely ensures that farmers are made aware of a FOIL inquiry for their farm information when such a request is made.
Farmers are on the front lines against natural (i.e. weather, disease, invasive species) and manmade (i.e. bioterrorism, water contamination) threats to the local food network that provides affordable, quality, nutritious food to the State's residents. As skilled, specialized prac- titioners, farmers counteract these threats through adaptive farm management and daily use of Best Management Practices. These farms rely on the expertise and resources available from the agriculture, environ- mental and other state agencies to develop and execute various aspects of their management plans that are crucial to the health and safety of the farm, its natural resources and the consumers it ultimately serves through the local food it produces.
The farm community holds grave concerns that farmers will not utilize the valuable agricultural, environmental and other state programs avail- able to them for fear of having their FOIL-derived business information enable sabotage or harm to the farm and environment on which the farm- er's livelihood depends. With this bill, farmers and their families will have statutory assurance that they will be alerted if and when their farm information is requested by a third party and by whom. This statu- tory assurance of notification will encourage farmers to continue to enroll in the successful agricultural, environmental conservation and other programs that the State and farm community have mutually developed and invested in over the past twenty years for the benefit of our family farms, our natural resources and our consumers.
Legislative history
S. 722 Passed Senate in 2017 and 2018
S. 3117 Passed Senate in 2015 and 2016
Fiscal impact
Minimal.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.