Senate Bill S1259

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1259
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 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 legislative law and  the  public  officers  law,  in
   relation to witness testimony before legislative committees via video-
   conferencing

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 60 of the legislative law, as  amended  by  chapter
 416 of the laws of 1954, is amended to read as follows:
   § 60. Testimony   before  legislative  committees.  1.  A  legislative
 committee may require the attendance of witnesses in this state whom the
 committee may wish to examine, or may issue a commission for  the  exam-
 ination  of  witnesses  who are out of the state or unable to attend the
 committee or excused from attendance, which commission  if  directed  by
 the  house  or  legislature  by  which the committee is appointed may be
 executed during the recess of the legislature. A  commission  issued  as
 provided  by  this  section  shall  be in the form used in the courts of
 record of this state and shall be executed in like manner. Unless other-
 wise instructed by the committee appointing them the commissioners shall
 examine privately every witness attending before them and shall not make
 public the particulars of such examination. No committee of either house
 or a joint committee of both houses shall have the power to take  testi-
 mony  at a private hearing or at a public hearing unless at least two of
 its members are present at such hearing.
   2. UPON A REQUEST FOR REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION BY A WITNESS, A  LEGIS-
 LATIVE  COMMITTEE  MAY  GRANT  SUCH WITNESS PERMISSION TO TESTIFY BEFORE
 SUCH LEGISLATIVE  COMMITTEE  VIA  VIDEOCONFERENCING.  SUCH  REQUEST  FOR
 REASONABLE  ACCOMMODATION  SHALL NOT BE APPROVED UNLESS SUCH WITNESS HAS
 DEMONSTRATED, TO THE SATISFACTION  OF  SUCH  LEGISLATIVE  COMMITTEE,  AN
 INABILITY TO TESTIFY IN-PERSON DUE TO DISABILITY, COST OF TRAVEL, SEVERE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04134-01-5
              

 S. 1259                             2
 
 WEATHER  CONDITIONS, OR ANOTHER REASON DEEMED JUSTIFIABLE BY SUCH LEGIS-
 LATIVE COMMITTEE.
   §  2. Subdivisions (d), (e) and (f) of section 103 of the public offi-
 cers law, subdivision (d) as added by chapter 43 of the  laws  of  2010,
 subdivision (e) as amended by chapter 481 of the laws of 2021 and subdi-
 vision  (f)  as  amended by chapter 319 of the laws of 2016, are amended
 and a new subdivision (h) is added to read as follows:
   [(d)] (E) 1. Any meeting of a public body that is open to  the  public
 shall  be  open  to being photographed, broadcast, webcast, or otherwise
 recorded and/or transmitted by audio or video means. As used herein  the
 term  "broadcast"  shall  also  include  the  transmission of signals by
 cable.
   2. A public body may adopt rules, consistent with recommendations from
 the committee on open government, reasonably governing the  location  of
 equipment  and  personnel  used  to  photograph,  broadcast, webcast, or
 otherwise record a meeting so as to conduct its proceedings in an order-
 ly manner. Such rules shall be conspicuously posted during meetings  and
 written copies shall be provided upon request to those in attendance.
   [(e)]  (F)  Agency records available to the public pursuant to article
 six of this chapter, as well as  any  proposed  resolution,  law,  rule,
 regulation, policy or any amendment thereto, that is scheduled to be the
 subject  of  discussion by a public body during an open meeting shall be
 made available, upon request therefor,  to  the  extent  practicable  at
 least  twenty-four  hours  prior to the meeting during which the records
 will be discussed. Copies of such records may be made  available  for  a
 reasonable  fee,  determined  in the same manner as provided therefor in
 article six of this chapter. If the agency in which a public body  func-
 tions maintains a regularly and routinely updated website and utilizes a
 high  speed  internet  connection,  such  records shall be posted on the
 website to the extent practicable at least twenty-four  hours  prior  to
 the  meeting.  An agency may, but shall not be required to, expend addi-
 tional moneys to implement the provisions of this subdivision.
   [(f)] (G) Open meetings of an agency or authority  shall  be,  to  the
 extent  practicable  and within available funds, broadcast to the public
 and maintained as records of the agency or authority. If the  agency  or
 authority  maintains  a  website  and  utilizes  a  high  speed internet
 connection, such open meeting shall be, to the  extent  practicable  and
 within available funds, streamed on such website in real-time, and post-
 ed  on  such website within and for a reasonable time after the meeting.
 For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "agency" shall mean  only
 a  state  department, board, bureau, division, council or office and any
 public corporation the majority of whose members are  appointed  by  the
 governor.  For  purposes of this subdivision, the term "authority" shall
 mean a public authority or public  benefit  corporation  created  by  or
 existing under any state law, at least one of whose members is appointed
 by  the governor (including any subsidiaries of such public authority or
 public benefit corporation), other than an interstate  or  international
 authority or public benefit corporation.
   (H)  IN  A  MEETING  HELD  BY A COMMITTEE OF EITHER HOUSE OF THE STATE
 LEGISLATURE OR BY A JOINT COMMITTEE OF BOTH HOUSES OF THE STATE LEGISLA-
 TURE, WITNESS TESTIMONY MAY BE TAKEN VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE, IN  ACCORDANCE
 WITH SECTION SIXTY OF THE LEGISLATIVE LAW.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.