Senate Bill S9739

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9739
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               April 2, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. KAVANAGH -- 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 requiring  agen-
   cies  to  report  information about FOIL inquiries to the committee on
   open government

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 90 of the public officers law is renumbered section
 90-a and a new section 90 is added to read as follows:
   §  90.  FOIL REQUEST REPORTING.   1. ALL AGENCIES THAT PERFORM GOVERN-
 MENTAL OR PROPRIETARY FUNCTIONS FOR THE STATE SUBJECT  TO  THIS  ARTICLE
 SHALL,  FOR  EACH  YEAR IN WHICH THEY RECEIVED OR HAVE PENDING A REQUEST
 FOR RECORDS UNDER THIS ARTICLE, SUBMIT TO THE COMMITTEE ON OPEN  GOVERN-
 MENT  THEIR LOG OF ALL SUCH FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW REQUESTS. FOR THE
 PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, PENDING SHALL MEAN REQUESTS THAT WERE OPEN  AT
 ANY  POINT DURING THE TWELVE-MONTH PERIOD, INCLUDING THOSE FIRST SUBMIT-
 TED IN PRIOR YEARS. THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW REQUEST LOGS SHALL:
   (A) COVER A TWELVE-MONTH RANGE OF DATES AS PRESCRIBED BY THE COMMITTEE
 ON OPEN  GOVERNMENT  AND  SHALL  INCLUDE  DATA  REGARDING  ALL  REQUESTS
 RECEIVED OR PENDING DURING THAT RANGE OF DATES;
   (B)  BE  SUBMITTED  ON  A SCHEDULE PRESCRIBED BY THE COMMITTEE ON OPEN
 GOVERNMENT;
   (C) BE IN A MACHINE-READABLE, TABULAR SPREADSHEET FORMAT PRESCRIBED BY
 THE COMMITTEE ON OPEN GOVERNMENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE ORDER
 OF THE DATA FIELDS INCLUDED;
   (D) BE SUBMITTED IN A METHOD AS PRESCRIBED BY THE  COMMITTEE  ON  OPEN
 GOVERNMENT,  SUCH  AS BY ELECTRONIC MAIL, WEB FORM, WEB PORTAL, OR OTHER
 METHOD AS PRESCRIBED BY THE COMMITTEE;
   (E) INCLUDE DATA PRESCRIBED AND  DEFINED  BY  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  OPEN
 GOVERNMENT, BUT AT THE MINIMUM INCLUDING:
   (I) THE NAME OF THE REQUESTOR;
   (II) THE AFFILIATION AND/OR THE EMPLOYER OF THE REQUESTOR, IF APPLICA-
 BLE;
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD01981-01-5
 S. 9739                             2
 
   (III) THE SUBJECT OR SUBJECTS OF THE REQUEST;
   (IV) THE DATE OF RECEIPT OF THE REQUEST;
   (V) THE DATE OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT BY THE AGENCY OF THE REQUEST;
   (VI)  THE  DATE  OF  THE  EXPECTED  RESPONSE  TIME  AS PROVIDED IN THE
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT;
   (VII) THE NUMBER OF EXTENSIONS OF TIME TO RESPOND TO DATE;
   (VIII) THE DATE OF THE  FINAL  RESPONSE  OR  OF  THE  CLOSURE  OF  THE
 REQUEST, IF APPLICABLE;
   (IX)  WHETHER  THE  REQUEST  WAS GRANTED IN WHOLE; GRANTED IN PART AND
 DENIED IN PART; OR DENIED;
   (X) IF THE REQUEST  WAS  DENIED  IN  WHOLE  OR  IN  PART,  A  LIST  OF
 EXEMPTIONS CITED IN THE FINAL RESPONSE, IF APPLICABLE;
   (XI) IF THE REQUEST WAS DENIED IN WHOLE OR IN PART, WHETHER THE AGENCY
 DETERMINED THERE WERE NO RESPONSIVE RECORDS;
   (XII)  THE  DATE AN APPEAL OF THE FINAL RESPONSE WAS FILED, OR WHETHER
 NO APPEAL WAS FILED;
   (XIII) THE STATUS OF ANY APPEALS, INCLUDING WHETHER THE APPEAL WAS:
   (A) NOT FILED;
   (B) FILED AND PENDING;
   (C) FILED AND GRANTED IN WHOLE;
   (D) FILED AND GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART; OR
   (E) FILED AND DENIED;
   (XIV) A LIST OF EXEMPTIONS CITED IN AN APPEAL DENIAL, IF APPLICABLE;
   (XV) THE AMOUNT, IN DOLLARS, OF TOTAL FEES COLLECTED FROM REQUESTOR;
   (XVI) HOW MANY DOCUMENTS WERE PRODUCED;
   (XVII) HOW MANY PAGES WERE PRODUCED;
   (XVIII) WHETHER ANY OF THE PRODUCED DOCUMENTS WERE REDACTED;
   (XIX) WHETHER THE REQUEST WAS SUBJECT  TO  A  PROCEEDING  FILED  UNDER
 ARTICLE SEVENTY-EIGHT OF THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES, AND IF SO:
   (A)  THE  RESULT,  INCLUDING  JUDGMENT  FOR  PETITIONER;  JUDGMENT FOR
 RESPONDENT; OR SETTLEMENT;
   (B) THE DATE OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT, WHETHER IT BE A FINAL JUDGMENT  OR
 STIPULATION OF DISMISSAL PURSUANT TO A SETTLEMENT;
   (C)  THE  AMOUNT  OF ATTORNEY FEES ASSESSED BY THE COURT TO BE PAID BY
 THE AGENCY, IF ANY;
   (D) THE DATE OF ANY APPEAL OF THE ARTICLE SEVENTY-EIGHT JUDGMENT; AND
   (E) THE RESULT OF ANY APPEAL OF AN ARTICLE SEVENTY-EIGHT JUDGMENT; AND
   (F) BE PUBLISHED ON THE AGENCY'S WEBSITE.
   2. AGENCIES THAT PERFORM GOVERNMENTAL  OR  PROPRIETARY  FUNCTIONS  FOR
 MUNICIPALITIES  SUBJECT  TO  THIS  ARTICLE  SHALL SUBMIT ANNUALLY TO THE
 COMMITTEE ON OPEN GOVERNMENT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF FREEDOM OF  INFORMATION
 REQUESTS  RECEIVED  IN  A  TWELVE-MONTH PERIOD BEGINNING NO EARLIER THAN
 JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SEVEN, AND THE NUMBER OF  FREEDOM  OF
 INFORMATION  REQUESTS  CLOSED  IN SUCH TWELVE-MONTH PERIOD.  SUBMISSIONS
 SHALL BE PROVIDED IN THE FORMAT, METHOD, AND SCHEDULE AS  PRESCRIBED  BY
 THE COMMITTEE ON OPEN GOVERNMENT.
   3.  BY  JANUARY  FIRST  OF EACH YEAR, THE COMMITTEE ON OPEN GOVERNMENT
 SHALL PUBLISH, ON ONE WEBPAGE, ALL FREEDOM OF  INFORMATION  LAW  REQUEST
 LOGS  AND  MUNICIPAL  GOVERNMENT  SUBMISSIONS IT RECEIVES, IN A MACHINE-
 READABLE FORMAT SUCH AS A SPREADSHEET OR COMMA SEPARATED VALUE FILE,  IN
 ADDITION  TO  ANY  OTHER  FORMAT  IT  SHALL DETERMINE, AND SUCH LOGS AND
 SUBMISSIONS SHALL BE PRESERVED ON SUCH WEBPAGE. THE  COMMITTEE  AND  THE
 OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES SHALL ADDITIONALLY PUBLISH AND
 PRESERVE  ROW-LEVEL  DATA OF SUCH LOGS AND SUBMISSIONS ON DATA.NY.GOV OR
 SUCH OTHER SUCCESSOR WEBSITE MAINTAINED BY, OR ON BEHALF OF, THE  STATE,
 S. 9739                             3
 
 AS  DEEMED  APPROPRIATE BY THE OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
 UNDER EXECUTIVE ORDER 95 OF 2013, OR ANY SUCCESSOR AGENCY OR ORDER.
   4. THE COMMITTEE ON OPEN GOVERNMENT SHALL AT A MINIMUM PROVIDE, IN ITS
 ANNUAL REPORT REQUIRED BY SECTION EIGHTY-NINE OF THIS ARTICLE, THE TOTAL
 NUMBER  OF FOIL LOGS SUBMITTED BY AGENCIES PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION, AND
 THE COMMITTEE SHALL FURTHER BE AUTHORIZED TO ANALYZE  THE  DATA  IN  THE
 FREEDOM  OF  INFORMATION LAW REQUEST LOGS AND USE SUCH DATA AND ANALYSES
 THEREOF IN SUCH ANNUAL REPORT OR OTHER REPORTS OR ANALYSES.
   5. NO LATER THAN JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-EIGHT, THE COMMIT-
 TEE ON OPEN GOVERNMENT SHALL PUBLISH A REPORT PROVIDING  RECOMMENDATIONS
 REGARDING  THE  BENEFITS AND FEASIBILITY OF AGENCIES SUBJECT TO SUBDIVI-
 SION TWO OF THIS SECTION SUBMITTING FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST  LOGS
 TO  THE COMMITTEE. SUCH RECOMMENDATIONS SHALL CONSIDER REQUIRING DATA TO
 BE PROVIDED REGARDING THE STATUS OF REQUESTS,  RESPONSE  TIMES,  USE  OF
 EXEMPTIONS,  WHETHER  RECORDS WERE PROVIDED IN FULL, IN PART, OR DENIED,
 AND ANY OTHER FIELDS REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION FOR STATE  AGENCIES.  SUCH
 REPORT  SHALL  BE PUBLISHED ON THE COMMITTEE'S WEBSITE AND ISSUED TO THE
 GOVERNOR, THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF THE  SENATE,  THE  SPEAKER  OF  THE
 ASSEMBLY,  THE  CHAIR  OF THE SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERN-
 MENT, THE CHAIR OF THE SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON  INVESTIGATIONS  AND
 GOVERNMENT  OPERATIONS,  THE CHAIR OF THE ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON
 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND THE CHAIR OF THE ASSEMBLY STANDING  COMMITTEE  ON
 GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS.
   §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law.