BILL NUMBER: S121

SPONSOR: ORTT
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to requests
for public information regarding certain farm operations

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF THE BILL:

To require notification to the owners and/or operators of a farm opera-
tion when information about their farm operation has been requested via
the Freedom of Information Law from a state agency or entity.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

This bill amends Agriculture and Markets Law to create a new Section
308-b that requires the owner or operator of a farm business as defined
in Section 301 of Agriculture and Markets Law to be notified that their
farm records or business information has been requested from a state
agency/entity via FOIL upon submission of the FOIL request to the state
              

agency/entity.

The state agency or entity of which the request has been made shall
inform the farm owner or operator in writing that a request for records
concerning their farm operation has been submitted, provide a
description of records requested and provide the name and address of the
person or entity requesting such records. The farm owner or operator is
to be notified within five business days of submission of the records
request via FOIL inquiry.

 
EXISTING STATUTE:

Currently, state law (Article 6 Public Officers Law 89) dictates that a
state agency/entity is required to notify a farm or any business that
its records are being released under a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL)
request when:

1) The records are actually requested via FOIL by a third party, AND

2) Upon initial submission of their business information to the state
agency, the farm has indicated that they are requesting the state
agency/entity consider their information confidential.

If these two conditions are met, the agency/entity will contact the farm
and have them justify their position that their business information
should be exempted from FOIL release because it is confidential and its
release could put their business in a competitive disadvantage with
their peers, consistent with the allowable statutory exceptions as
defined in Public Officers Law (POL) § 87(2) (a-i). The state
agency/entity must then determine whether the farm or business' request
for exception is valid and either approve or reject the business'
request for exemption from FOIL release.

If the agency agrees with the farm or business and denies release of the
requested information under the FOIL, the requesting party may sue the
agency for violating the FOIL. If the agency disagrees with the farm or
business and releases the information, the farm or business may sue the

agency stating that it should fall under the allowable exceptions to
FOIL release listed under POL § 67(2)(a-i).

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill ensures that our family farms are alerted to the fact that
their business information has been requested under the Freedom of
Information Law (FOIL) when the inquiry has been made. This bill in no
way hinders the release of FOIL-derived information. It merely ensures
that farmers are made aware of a FOIL inquiry for their farm information
when such a request is made.

Farmers are on the front lines against natural (i.e. weather, disease,
invasive species) and manmade (i.e. bioterrorism, water contamination)
threats to the local food network that provides affordable, quality,
nutritious food to the State's residents. As skilled, specialized prac-
titioners, farmers counteract these threats through adaptive farm
management and daily use of Best Management Practices. These farms rely
on the expertise and resources available from the agriculture, environ-
mental and other state agencies to develop and execute various aspects
of their management plans that are crucial to the health and safety of
the farm, its natural resources and the consumers it ultimately serves
through the local food it produces.

The farm community holds grave concerns that farmers will not utilize
the valuable agricultural, environmental and other state programs avail-
able to them for fear of having their FOIL-derived business information
enable sabotage or harm to the farm and environment on which the farm-
er's livelihood depends. With this bill, farmers and their families will
have statutory assurance that they will be alerted if and when their
farm information is requested by a third party and by whom. This statu-
tory assurance of notification will encourage farmers to continue to
enroll in the successful agricultural, environmental conservation and
other programs that the State and farm community have mutually developed
and invested in over the past twenty years for the benefit of our family
farms, our natural resources and our consumers.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S. 722 Passed Senate in 2017 and 2018

S. 3117 Passed Senate in 2015 and 2016

 
FISCAL IMPACT:

Minimal.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.