NY State Senate Bill 2019-S7379

Senate Bill S7379

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Provides press access to open meetings of an agency or authority and requires notice of such meetings to local governments

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 22, 2020	referred to investigations and government operations

2019-S7379 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Investigations And Government Operations
Law Section:: Public Officers Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§102 & 104, add §103-a, Pub Off L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S4416
2023-2024: S1253

2019-S7379 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides press access to open meetings of an agency or authority and requires notice of such meetings to local governments.

2019-S7379 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S7379

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to providing press
access to open meetings of an agency or authority

 
PURPOSE:

This bill establishes open access by press at all public meetings of
agencies and authorities, requires that notice of such meetings be sent
to local governments, and that draft agendas for all public meetings
must be posted on agency websites no later than twenty-four hours before
meetings.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

The bill amends section 102 of the public officers law by adding a new
subdivision 4 to define professional journalist in line with definitions
found in New York's journalist shield laws. It adds a section 103-a to

guarantee press access to open meetings of agencies and authorities. It
amends subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 104 of the public officers law to
require notice of public meetings be sent to local governments and that
meetings scheduled at least one week prior to happening be publicly
posted at least ninety-sex hours or four business days before such meet-
ing. Lastly, it adds a new subdivision 7 requiring that draft meeting
agendas be posted to agencies' websites no later than twenty-four hours
before any scheduled open meetings.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The New York Open Meetings Law is critical to ensuring that state
government is open and transparent to the public. It helps to guarantee
that public meetings of agencies and government bodies are conducted in
the open, with the public able to monitor and understand the conduct of
their state officials. In order to expand the accessibility of these
meetings, this legislation proposes three common sense amendments to the
Open Meetings Law.

First, it will establish in law the right of professional journalists to
attend duly constituted open meetings, except for executive sessions.

Second, it extends notice requirements for public meetings to four busi-
ness days or ninety-six hours and includes local governments among those
who must be notified of public meetings.  Third, it requires that agen-
cies post a draft agenda to their website for any scheduled open meet-
ings no later than twenty-four hours before a meeting.

These three common sense reforms will greatly increase the ability of
the public to stay informed, provide input, and to know the subjects of
meetings with enough notice to engage constructively in the state's
governing processes.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Minimal

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
30 days after enactment

2019-S7379 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7379
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 22, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAY  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
   ment Operations
 
 AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to providing  press
   access to open meetings of an agency or authority
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 102 of the public officers law is amended by adding
 a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
   4. "PROFESSIONAL JOURNALIST" MEANS ONE WHO, FOR GAIN OR LIVELIHOOD, IS
 ENGAGED IN GATHERING, PREPARING, COLLECTING, WRITING, EDITING,  FILMING,
 TAPING OR PHOTOGRAPHING OF NEWS INTENDED FOR A NEWSPAPER, MAGAZINE, NEWS
 AGENCY,  PRESS  ASSOCIATION OR WIRE SERVICE OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL MEDIUM
 OR AGENCY WHICH HAS AS ONE OF ITS REGULAR FUNCTIONS THE  PROCESSING  AND
 RESEARCHING  OF  NEWS  INTENDED  FOR  DISSEMINATION  TO THE PUBLIC; SUCH
 PERSON SHALL BE SOMEONE PERFORMING SUCH FUNCTION  EITHER  AS  A  REGULAR
 EMPLOYEE OR AS ONE OTHERWISE PROFESSIONALLY AFFILIATED FOR GAIN OR LIVE-
 LIHOOD WITH SUCH MEDIUM OF COMMUNICATION.
   §  2. The public officers law is amended by adding a new section 103-a
 to read as follows:
   § 103-A. PRESS ACCESS. OPEN MEETINGS OF AN AGENCY OR AUTHORITY, EXCEPT
 FOR EXECUTIVE SESSIONS AS PROVIDED FOR IN THIS ARTICLE,  SHALL  BE  OPEN
 AND  ACCESSIBLE TO PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS AND MEMBERS OF THE PRESS. NO
 POLICIES OR RULES MAY BE ADOPTED RESTRICTING SUCH ACCESS.
   § 3. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 104 of the public  officers  law,
 as  amended  by  chapter  302 of the laws of 2016, are amended and a new
 subdivision 7 is added to read as follows:
   1. Public notice of the time and place of a meeting scheduled at least
 one week prior thereto shall be given or electronically  transmitted  to
 the  news  media AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS and shall be conspicuously posted
 in one or more designated public locations at least [seventy-two]  NINE-
 TY-SIX  hours  OR  FOUR  BUSINESS DAYS before such meeting, WHICHEVER IS
 GREATER.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD14677-01-0

 S. 7379                             2
 
   2. Public notice of the time and place of every other meeting shall be
 given or electronically transmitted, to the extent practicable,  to  the
 news  media  AND  LOCAL GOVERNMENTS and shall be conspicuously posted in
 one or more designated public locations at a reasonable time prior ther-
 eto.
   7. A DRAFT AGENDA FOR ANY PUBLIC MEETING SHALL BE CONSPICUOUSLY POSTED
 TO THE AGENCY'S WEBSITE NO LATER THAN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS BEFORE ANY MEET-
 ING SCHEDULED IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION ONE OR TWO OF THIS SECTION.
   §  4.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.

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