S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  4586--A
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 21, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  KRUEGER, HAMILTON, HOYLMAN, SERRANO -- read twice
   and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
   on Investigations and Government  Operations  --  recommitted  to  the
   Committee  on  Investigations  and Government Operations in accordance
   with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,
   ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  public  officers law, in relation to publishing
   records of public interest by agencies and the state legislature
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Section 84 of the public officers law, as added by chapter
 933 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
   § 84. Legislative declaration. The legislature  hereby  finds  that  a
 free society is maintained when government is responsive and responsible
 to the public, and when the public is aware of governmental actions. The
 more  open  a  government  is with its citizenry, the greater the under-
 standing and participation of the public in government.
   As state and local government services increase  and  public  problems
 become more sophisticated and complex and therefore harder to solve, and
 with  the  resultant increase in revenues and expenditures, it is incum-
 bent upon the state and its localities to extend  public  accountability
 wherever and whenever feasible.
   The people's right to know the process of governmental decision-making
 and  to review the documents and statistics leading to determinations is
 basic to our society. Access to such information should not be  thwarted
 by shrouding it with the cloak of secrecy or confidentiality.
   SINCE  THE  FREEDOM  OF INFORMATION LAW WAS FIRST ADOPTED, ADVANCES IN
 TECHNOLOGY HAVE ENHANCED THE  ABILITY  TO  GAIN  ACCESS  TO  AND  WIDELY
 DISSEMINATE PUBLIC INFORMATION.  ACCORDINGLY, THE LEGISLATURE FINDS THAT
 GOVERNMENT  AGENCIES,  TO THE EXTENT PRACTICABLE, SHOULD PUBLISH RECORDS

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01914-02-8
              

 S. 4586--A                          2
 
 PROACTIVELY ON THE INTERNET THAT ARE OF PUBLIC  INTEREST  AND  AVAILABLE
 UNDER THIS ARTICLE.
   The  legislature  therefore  declares  that government is the public's
 business and that the public, individually and collectively and  repres-
 ented  by  a free press, should have access to the records of government
 in accordance with the provisions of this article.
   § 2. Section 90 of the public officers law is renumbered section  90-a
 and a new section 90 is added to read as follows:
   §  90.  RECORDS  OF  PUBLIC  INTEREST. 1. EACH AGENCY AND HOUSE OF THE
 STATE LEGISLATURE SHALL PUBLISH, ON ITS INTERNET WEBSITE, TO THE  EXTENT
 PRACTICABLE,  RECORDS  OR  PORTIONS OF RECORDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THE
 PUBLIC PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE, AND WHICH, IN CONSID-
 ERATION OF THEIR NATURE, CONTENT OR SUBJECT MATTER,  ARE  DETERMINED  BY
 THE AGENCY TO BE OF SUBSTANTIAL INTEREST TO THE PUBLIC. ANY SUCH RECORDS
 MAY BE REMOVED FROM THE INTERNET WEBSITE WHEN THE AGENCY OR HOUSE OF THE
 STATE  LEGISLATURE  DETERMINES  THAT  THEY  ARE NO LONGER OF SUBSTANTIAL
 INTEREST TO THE PUBLIC. ANY SUCH RECORDS MAY BE REMOVED FROM THE  INTER-
 NET  WEBSITE  WHEN  THEY  HAVE  REACHED THE END OF THEIR LEGAL RETENTION
 PERIOD. GUIDANCE ON CREATING RECORDS IN ACCESSIBLE FORMATS AND  ENSURING
 THEIR  CONTINUING  ACCESSIBILITY  SHALL BE AVAILABLE FROM THE OFFICE FOR
 TECHNOLOGY AND THE STATE ARCHIVES.
   2. THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION SHALL  NOT  APPLY
 TO  RECORDS OR PORTIONS OF RECORDS THE DISCLOSURE OF WHICH WOULD CONSTI-
 TUTE AN UNWARRANTED INVASION OF  PERSONAL  PRIVACY  IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH
 SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION EIGHTY-NINE OF THIS ARTICLE.
   3.  THE  COMMITTEE  ON OPEN GOVERNMENT SHALL PROMULGATE REGULATIONS TO
 EFFECTUATE THIS SECTION.
   4. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED AS TO LIMIT  OR  ABRIDGE
 THE  POWER  OF  AN  AGENCY  OR HOUSE OF THE STATE LEGISLATURE TO PUBLISH
 RECORDS ON ITS INTERNET WEBSITE THAT ARE SUBJECT TO  THE  PROVISIONS  OF
 THIS ARTICLE PRIOR TO A WRITTEN REQUEST OR PRIOR TO A FREQUENT REQUEST.
   §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law.