What's happening
This bill requires courts to award reasonable attorney's fees to successful petitioners in certain public records and open meetings cases.
Why it matters
Strengthens accountability for government agencies. by making the awarding of attorney’s fees mandatory (rather than optional) when agencies improperly deny access to public records or violate open meetings laws, which could deter agencies from delaying or obstructing legitimate requests.
Reduces financial barriers for citizens and journalists. seeking government transparency, as successful petitioners are assured their legal costs will be covered, encouraging more individuals to challenge improper denials without fear of prohibitive legal expenses.
Clarifies what counts as a “reasonable basis” for denying access. , limiting government agencies’ ability to defend denials unless they relied on clear, existing appellate court opinions or official guidance from the Committee on Open Government, which could lead to greater compliance with transparency laws.
May result in more consistent and timely compliance. with Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) and Open Meetings Law requirements, as agencies face increased financial consequences for noncompliance, potentially improving public access to government information.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Guarantee Attorney Fee Awards
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Referred to governmental operations
- Print number 950a
- Amend and recommit to governmental operations
- Referred to governmental operations
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.
Guarantee Legal Fee Awards
In Assembly Committee · Governmental Operations · Sponsor John Liu
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
950--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by M. of A. STECK, SIMON, MAGNARELLI, KELLES -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to the award of reasonable attorneys' fees in certain proceedings
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 4 of section 89 of the public officers law, as amended by chapter 453 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
(c) The court in such a proceeding:
(i) [may] shall assess, against such agency involved, reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred by such person in any case under the provisions of this section in which such person has [substantially] prevailed, via voluntary production of any records after the commencement of litigation, settlement resulting in production of any records, or judgement ordering production of any records, and when either:
(A) the agency failed to respond to a request or appeal within the statutory time; [and (ii) shall assess, against such agency involved, reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred by such person in any case under the provisions of this section in which such person has substantially prevailed and] or
(B) the court finds that the agency had no reasonable basis for denying access.
(ii) For the purposes of this paragraph, a reasonable basis for denying access means:
(A) the agency reasonably relied upon a published opinion of an appellate court of the state based on substantially similar facts; or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03042-02-5
(B) the agency reasonably relied upon a published opinion by the committee on open government based on substantially similar facts.
§ 2. Subdivision 2 of section 107 of the public officers law, as amended by chapter 397 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
2. In any proceeding brought pursuant to this section, costs and reasonable attorney fees [may] shall be awarded by the court, [in its discretion,] to the successful [party] petitioner and against the public body. [If a court determines that a vote was taken in material violation of this article, or that substantial deliberations relating thereto occurred in private prior to such vote, the court shall award costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the successful petitioner, unless there was a reasonable basis for a public body to believe that a closed session could properly have been held.]
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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.