What's happening
This bill requires industrial development agencies and certain authorities to livestream and archive videos of their open meetings and public hearings online for at least five years.
Why it matters
Increases transparency and accountability. by ensuring the public can easily view and review the proceedings of industrial development agencies and certain authorities, making it harder for major decisions to occur without public awareness.
Provides a long-term public record. by requiring that videos of meetings and hearings be kept online for at least five years, allowing community members, journalists, and watchdogs to access historical information and track agency actions over time.
Enhances accessibility for all citizens,. including those unable to attend meetings in person due to work, disability, or distance, enabling broader participation in local governance and oversight.
May drive higher standards for conduct and decision-making. within agencies and authorities, as officials know their actions and discussions are preserved and publicly available for years.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Stream All Public Meetings
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Substituted by A3002
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.26
- Referred to local government
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Stream Public Agency Meetings
Signed by Governor · Sponsor Michaelle C. Solages
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
88
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. KAMINSKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law and the public authorities law, in relation to requiring each industrial development agency to live stream all open meetings and public hearings and make the recordings of such meetings and hearings available on the webpage of the industrial development agency
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new section 857 to read as follows:
§ 857. Video recordings of open meetings and public hearings. The agency shall, to the extent practicable, stream all open meetings and public hearings on its website in real-time. The agency shall post video recordings of all open meetings and public hearings on its website within five business days of the meeting or hearing and shall maintain such recordings for a period of not less than five years.
§ 2. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new section 1952-a to read as follows:
§ 1952-a. Video recordings of open meetings and public hearings. The authority shall, to the extent practicable, stream all open meetings and public hearings on its website in real-time. The authority shall post video recordings of all open meetings and public hearings on its website within five business days of the meeting or hearing and shall maintain such recordings for a period of not less than five years.
§ 3. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new section 2305 to read as follows:
§ 2305. Video recordings of open meetings and public hearings. The authority shall, to the extent practicable, stream all open meetings and public hearings on its website in real-time. The authority shall post
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03460-01-9
S. 88 2
video recordings of all open meetings and public hearings on its website within five business days of the meeting or hearing and shall maintain such recordings for a period of not less than five years.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which 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 general municipal law and the public authorities law, in relation to requiring each industrial devel- opment agency to live stream all open meetings and public hearings and make the recordings of such meetings and hearings available on the webpage of the industrial development agency
Purpose
To provide each locality with immediate and future access to all meet- ings and public hearings held by industrial development agencies (IDAs)
Summary of provisions
This bill amends the General Municipal Law and the Public Authorities Law to require IDAs, to the extent practicable, stream all open meetings and public hearings on their website. This bill would also require IDAs to post video recordings of all open meetings and public hearings on their website.
Difference between original and amended version (if applicable)
The amended language now includes all open meetings and public hearings held by an IDA as opposed to just meetings where payments in lieu of tax agreements are being discussed.
Justification
While constituents may want to attend every governmental meeting, due to scheduling conflicts, they cannot always be physically present to do so.
Live streaming has become a valuable tool for governments to increase civic engagement. Governments of all sizes have taken to streaming meet- ings as a way to increase transparency, accountability, as well as, communicate their message to residents. This bill will provide constitu- ents the option to vie IDA meetings at a time that suits them.
Legislative history
S.8468-A- 2018
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.