Senate Bill S1973

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S1973

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to the disclosure
of the inventory file of real property


 PURPOSE :

Enactment of this legislation would make available the property
characteristics of an inventory file for a parcel of real estate and
clarity that such information shall not be deemed a matter of personal
property.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 amends section 87 of the public officers law by adding a new
subdivision 5 requiring that the property characteristics of an
inventory file for a parcel of real estate shall be disclosed by any
agency in possession of such inventory file.

 EXISTING LAW :

Under existing law, such information is considered to be a matter of
personal privacy and is not made available under the FOIL or other
              

avenues.

 JUSTIFICATION :

A recent court decision held that a municipality properly withheld
disclosure of the inventory file on the basis that the release of that
information would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal
privacy. The "inventory file" includes specific public information
about real property, such as square footage, number of rooms and
baths, and lot size. This is commonly known as the "property
characteristics file" in many other jurisdictions.

This decision was a major blow to the real estate industry as access
to the inventory file is necessary for the accurate valuation of real
property. The lack of such information jeopardizes, or at least
hinders, the ability to accurately value real property. This in turn,
may promote unintended consequences, such as mortgage fraud, or at the
very minimum, a slower and more inefficient closing process.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill - 2008 Referred to Investigations & Government Operations

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None to New York State.

 LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.