BILL NUMBER:S6593

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the public officers law and chapter
154 of the laws of 1921 relating to the port authority of New York and
New Jersey, in relation to making the port authority of New York and
New Jersey subject to certain freedom of information laws

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:  This bill, the Port Authority Open
Government Act, subjects the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey
to New York State's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) and New Jersey's
Open Public Records Act (OPRA).

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Section 86 of the Public Officers Law to explicitly
include the Port Authority of New York & Jersey in the definition of
"agency" for the purposes of FOIL.

Section 2 amends Chapter 154 of the laws of 1921 to add a new Article
XV-B stating that the Port Authority is subject to the provisions of
FOIL and OPRA.

Section 3 states that the bill shall take effect upon the enactment of
legislation having an identical effect by the state of New Jersey, or,
if such legislation has already been enacted, immediately.

              

JUSTIFICATION:  Under prevailing case law, the Port Authority is not
subject either to New York's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) or New
Jersey's Open Public Records Act (OPRA). Instead, requests from the
public and press for government records from the Port Authority are
considered under the Port Authority's self-promulgated internal
"Freedom of Information Code" (FOI Code).

The Port Authority's FOI Code is an insufficient guarantee of public
access. Because it is policy, rather than law, it can be altered
without legislative oversight, and inconvenient or politically
sensitive requests can be ignored without consequence, as no state
courts appear to have clear jurisdiction to appeal a denial of an FOI
Code request.

As recent events have demonstrated, there is a pressing need for
transparency and accountability at the Port Authority in order to help
restore public confidence in the agency. This bill will close a
loophole in the law that exempts the Port Authority from standard
access to government records and ensure that the public has the same
right to information from the Port Authority as it does from any other
state agency or authority. The New York Department of State's
Committee on Open Government supports legislation that would
accomplish this goal as stated in its December 2013 report Solidifying
a Culture of Openness.

Any laws affecting the Port Authority must be enacted by both New York
and New Jersey. This bill explicitly subjects the Port Authority to
both FOIL and OPRA, having the same effect as legislation that has
already been introduced in New Jersey.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: None.


FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  The bill shall take effect upon the enactment of
legislation having an identical effect by the state of New Jersey, or,
if such legislation has already been enacted, immediately.