Senate Bill S3453

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  3453

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             March 19, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  OPPENHEIMER -- read twice and ordered printed, and
  when printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Investigations  and
  Government Operations

AN  ACT  to amend the public officers law, in relation to enforcement of
  the open meetings law

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 107 of the public officers law, as added by chapter
511  of the laws of 1976 and as renumbered by chapter 652 of the laws of
1983, subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 397 of the laws  of  2008,  is
amended to read as follows:
  S  107.  Enforcement.  1.  Any aggrieved person shall have standing to
enforce the provisions of this article against  a  public  body  by  the
commencement  of  a  proceeding pursuant to article seventy-eight of the
civil practice law and rules, [and/or]  OR  an  action  for  declaratory
judgment and injunctive relief.  In any such action or proceeding, [the]
A  court shall have the power, in its discretion, upon good cause shown,
to declare any action or part thereof [taken in violation of this  arti-
cle]  void in whole or in part WHEN THAT ACTION, OR SUBSTANTIAL DELIBER-
ATIONS RELATING THERETO, WAS TAKEN OR HELD IN VIOLATION OF THIS ARTICLE.
ALTERNATIVELY, THE COURT MAY STAY IMPLEMENTATION OF AN  ACTION  OR  PART
THEREOF  AND REMAND THE ACTION TO THE PUBLIC BODY FOR RECONSIDERATION OF
THE ACTION.
  An unintentional failure to fully comply with  the  notice  provisions
required by this article shall not alone be grounds for invalidating any
action  taken  at  a  meeting of a public body.   The provisions of this
article shall not affect the validity of the authorization, acquisition,
execution or disposition of a bond issue or notes.
  2. In any proceeding brought  pursuant  to  this  section,  costs  and
reasonable attorney fees may be awarded by the court, in its discretion,
to  the successful party. If a court determines that a vote was taken in

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD04148-03-9
              

S. 3453                             2

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.  The statute of limitations in an article seventy-eight  proceeding
with  respect  to an action taken at executive session shall commence to
run from the date the minutes of such executive session have  been  made
available to the public.
  4.  IF  A  COURT  FINDS  THAT  THE  PUBLIC  BODY OR ANY OF ITS MEMBERS
VIOLATED THIS ARTICLE, IT MAY IMPOSE A  CIVIL  PENALTY  OF  UP  TO  FIVE
HUNDRED DOLLARS PAYABLE BY EACH PUBLIC BODY ENGAGED IN SUCH VIOLATION.
  S  2.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
have become a law.