PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW
Laws 1909, Chap. 51.
AN ACT in relation to public officers, constituting chapter forty-
seven of the consolidated laws.
Became a law February 17, 1909, with the approval of the
Governor. Passed, three-fifths being present.
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows:
CHAPTER 47 OF THE CONSOLIDATED LAWS
PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW
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ARTICLE 6
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW
Section 84. Legislative declaration.
85. Short title.
86. Definitions.
87. Access to agency records.
88. Access to state legislative records.
89. General provisions relating to access to
records; certain cases.
90. Severability.
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Sec. 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 understanding
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 incumbent 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.
The legislature therefore declares that government is the
public's business and that the public, individually and
collectively and represented by a free press, should have access
to the records of government in accordance with the provisions of
this article.
Sec. 85. Short title.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Freedom of
Information Law."
Sec. 86. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless the context requires otherwise:
1. "Judiciary" means the courts of the state, including any
municipal or district court, whether or not of record.
2. "State legislature" means the legislature of the state of
New York, including any committee, subcommittee, joint
committee, select committee, or commission thereof.
3. "Agency" means any state or municipal department, board,
bureau, division, commission, committee, public authority,
public corporation, council, office or other governmental
entity performing a governmental or proprietary function for
the state or any one or more municipalities thereof, except
the judiciary or the state legislature.
4. "Record" means any information kept, held, filed, produced
or reproduced by, with or for an agency or the state
legislature, in any physical form whatsoever including, but
not limited to, reports, statements, examinations,
memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books, manuals,
pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos,
letters, microfilms, computer tapes or discs, rules,
regulations or codes.
Section 87. Access to agency records.
1. (a) Within sixty days after the effective date of this
article, the governing body of each public corporation
shall promulgate uniform rules and regulations for all
agencies in such public corporation pursuant to such
general rules and regulations as may be promulgated by
the committee on open government in conformity with the
provisions of this article, pertaining to the
administration of this article.
(b) Each agency shall promulgate rules and regulations, in
conformity with this article and applicable rules and
regulations promulgated pursuant to the provisions of
paragraph (a) of this subdivision, and pursuant to such
general rules and regulations as may be promulgated by
the committee on open government in conformity with the
provisions of this article, pertaining to the
availability of records and procedures to be followed,
including, but not limited to:
i. the times and places such records are available;
ii. the persons from whom such records may be
obtained, and
iii. the fees for copies of records which shall not
exceed twenty-five cents per photocopy not in
excess of nine inches by fourteen inches, or the
actual cost of reproducing any other record,
except when a different fee is otherwise
prescribed by statute.
2. Each agency shall, in accordance with its published rules,
make available for public inspection and copying all
records, except that such agency may deny access to records
or portions thereof that:
(a) are specifically exempted from disclosure by state or
federal statute;
(b) if disclosed would constitute an unwarranted invasion
of personal privacy under the provisions of subdivision
two of section eighty-nine of this article;
(c) if disclosed would impair present or imminent contract
awards or collective bargaining negotiations;
(d) are trade secrets or are submitted to an agency by a
commercial enterprise or derived from information
obtained from a commercial enterprise and which if
disclosed would cause substantial injury to the
competitive position of the subject enterprise;
(e) are compiled for law enforcement purposes and which, if
disclosed, would:
i. interfere with law enforcement investigations or
judicial proceedings;
ii. deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or
impartial adjudication;
iii. identify a confidential source or disclose
confidential information relating to a criminal
investigation; or
iv. reveal criminal investigative techniques or
procedures, except routine techniques and
procedures;
(f) if disclosed would endanger the life or safety of any
person;
(g) are inter-agency or intra-agency materials which are
not:
i. statistical or factual tabulations or data;
ii. instructions to staff that affect the public;
iii. final agency policy or determinations; or
*iv. external audits, including but not limited to
audits performed by the comptroller and the
federal government; or
* NB Repealed 99/01/01
(h) are examination questions or answers which are
requested prior to the final administration of such
questions.
(i) are computer access codes.
*(j) are photographs, microphotographs, videotape or other
recorded images prepared under authority of section
eleven hundred eleven-a of the vehicle and traffic law.
* NB Repealed 96/12/01
3. Each agency shall maintain:
(a) a record of the final vote of each member in every
agency proceeding in which the member votes;
(b) a record setting forth the name, public office address,
title and salary of every officer or employee of the
agency; and
(c) a reasonably detailed current list by subject matter,
of all records in the possession of the agency, whether
or not available under this article.
4. (a) Each state agency which maintains records
containing trade secrets, to which access may be denied
pursuant to paragraph (d) of subdivision two of this
section, shall promulgate regulations in conformity
with the provisions of subdivision five of section
eighty-nine of this article pertaining to such records,
including, but not limited to the following:
(1) the manner of identifying the records or parts;
(2) the manner of identifying persons within the
agency to whose custody the records or parts will
be charged and for whose inspection and study the
records will be made available;
(3) the manner of safeguarding against any
unauthorized access to the records.
(b) As used in this subdivision the term "agency" or "state
agency" means only a state department, board, bureau,
division, council or office and any public corporation
the majority of whose members are appointed by the
governor.
Section 88. Access to state legislative records.
1. The temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the
assembly shall promulgate rules and regulations for their
respective houses in conformity with the provisions of this
article, pertaining to the availability, location and nature
of records, including, but not limited to:
(a) the times and places such records are available;
(b) the persons from whom such records may be obtained;
(c) the fees for copies of such records, which shall not
exceed twenty-five cents per photocopy not in excess of
nine inches by fourteen inches, or the actual cost of
reproducing any other record, except when a different
fee is otherwise prescribed by law.
2. The state legislature shall, in accordance with its
published rules, make available for public inspection and
copying:
(a) bills and amendments thereto, fiscal notes,
introducers' bill memoranda, resolutions and amendments
thereto, and index records;
(b) messages received from the governor or the other house
of the legislature, and home rule messages;
(c) legislative notification of the proposed adoption of
rules by an agency;
(d) transcripts or minutes, if prepared, and journal
records of public sessions including meetings of
committees and subcommittees and public hearings, with
the records of attendance of members thereat and
records of any votes taken;
(e) internal or external audits and statistical or factual
tabulations of, or with respect to, material otherwise
available for public inspection and copying pursuant to
this section or any other applicable provision of law;
(f) administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff
that affect members of the public;
(g) final reports and formal opinions submitted to the
legislature;
(h) final reports or recommendations and minority or
dissenting reports and opinions of members of
committees, subcommittees, or commissions of the
legislature;
*(j) external audits conducted pursuant to section ninety-
two of the legislative law and schedules issued
pursuant to subdivision two of section ninety of the
legislative law;
* NB Repealed 99/01/01
*(j) any other files, records, papers or documents required
by law to be made available for public inspection and
copying.
* NB Effective 99/01/01
*(k) any other files, records, papers or documents required
by law to be made available for public inspection and
copying.
* NB Repealed Effective 99/01/01
3. Each house shall maintain and make available for public
inspection and copying: (a) a record of votes of each member
in every session and every committee and subcommittee
meeting in which the member votes;
(b) a record setting forth the name, public office address,
title, and salary of every officer or employee; and
(c) a current list, reasonably detailed, by subject matter
of any records required to be made available for public
inspection and copying pursuant to this section.
Section 89. General provisions relating to access to records;
certain cases.
The provisions of this section apply to access to all records,
except as hereinafter specified:
1. (a) The committee on open government is continued and
shall consist of the lieutenant governor or the
delegate of such officer, the secretary of state or the
delegate of such officer, whose office shall act as
secretariat for the committee, the commissioner of the
office of general services or the delegate of such
officer, the director of the budget or the delegate of
such officer, and seven other persons, none of whom
shall hold any other state or local public office
except the representative of local governments as set
forth herein, to be appointed as follows: five by the
governor, at least two of whom are or have been
representatives of the news media, one of whom shall be
a representative of local government who, at the time
of appointment, is serving as a duly elected officer of
a local government, one by the temporary president of
the senate, and one by the speaker of the assembly. The
persons appointed by the temporary president of the
senate and the speaker of the assembly shall be
appointed to serve, respectively, until the expiration
of the terms of office of the temporary president and
the speaker to which the temporary president and
speaker were elected. The four persons presently
serving by appointment of the governor for fixed terms
shall continue to serve until the expiration of their
respective terms. Thereafter, their respective
successors shall be appointed for terms of four years.
The member representing local government shall be
appointed for a term of four years, so long as such
member shall remain a duly elected officer of a local
government. The committee shall hold no less than two
meetings annually, but may meet at any time. The
members of the committee shall be entitled to
reimbursement for actual expenses incurred in the
discharge of their duties.
(b) The committee shall:
i. furnish to any agency advisory guidelines,
opinions or other appropriate information
regarding this article;
ii. furnish to any person advisory opinions or other
appropriate information regarding this article;
iii. promulgate rules and regulations with respect to
the implementation of subdivision one and
paragraph (c) of subdivision three of section
eighty-seven of this article;
iv. request from any agency such assistance, services
and information as will enable the committee to
effectively carry out its powers and duties; and
v. report on its activities and findings regarding
articles six and seven of this chapter, including
recommendations for changes in the law, to the
governor and the legislature annually, on or
before December fifteenth.
2. (a) The committee on public access to records may
promulgate guidelines regarding deletion of identifying
details or withholding of records otherwise available
under this article to prevent unwarranted invasions of
personal privacy. In the absence of such guidelines, an
agency may delete identifying details when it makes
records available.
(b) An unwarranted invasion of personal privacy includes,
but shall not be limited to:
i. disclosure of employment, medical or credit
histories or personal references of applicants for
employment;
ii. disclosure of items involving the medical or
personal records of a client or patient in a
medical facility;
iii. sale or release of lists of names and addresses if
such lists would be used for commercial or fund-
raising purposes;
iv. disclosure of information of a personal nature
when disclosure would result in economic or
personal hardship to the subject party and such
information is not relevant to the work of the
agency requesting or maintaining it; or
v. disclosure of information of a personal nature
reported in confidence to an agency and not
relevant to the ordinary work of such agency.
(c) Unless otherwise provided by this article, disclosure
shall not be construed to constitute an unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy pursuant to paragraphs (a)
and (b) of this subdivision:
i. when identifying details are deleted;
ii. when the person to whom a record pertains consents
in writing to disclosure;
iii. when upon presenting reasonable proof of identity,
a person seeks access to records pertaining to
him.
2-a. Nothing in this article shall permit disclosure which
constitutes an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy as
defined in subdivision two of this section if such
disclosure is prohibited under section ninety-six of this
chapter.
3. Each entity subject to the provisions of this article,
within five business days of the receipt of a written
request for a record reasonably described, shall make such
record available to the person requesting it, deny such
request in writing or furnish a written acknowledgement of
the receipt of such request and a statement of the
approximate date when such request will be granted or
denied, including, where appropriate, a statement that
access to the record will be determined in accordance with
subdivision five of this section. Upon payment of, or offer
to pay, the fee prescribed therefor, the entity shall
provide a copy of such record and certify to the correctness
of such copy if so requested, or as the case may be, shall
certify that it does not have possession of such record or
that such record cannot be found after diligent search.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to require any
entity to prepare any record not possessed or maintained by
such entity except the records specified in subdivision
three of section eighty-seven and subdivision three of
section eighty-eight.
4. (a) Except as provided in subdivision five of this
section, any person denied access to a record may
within thirty days appeal in writing such denial to the
head, chief executive or governing body of the entity,
or the person therefor designated by such head, chief
executive, or governing body, who shall within ten
business days of the receipt of such appeal fully
explain in writing to the person requesting the record
the reasons for further denial, or provide access to
the record sought. In addition, each agency shall
immediately forward to the committee on open government
a copy of such appeal when received by the agency and
the ensuing determination thereon.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision five of this section,
a person denied access to a record in an appeal
determination under the provisions of paragraph (a) of
this subdivision may bring a proceeding for review of
such denial pursuant to article seventy-eight of the
civil practice law and rules. In the event that access
to any record is denied pursuant to the provisions of
subdivision two of section eighty-seven of this
article, the agency involved shall have the burden of
proving that such record falls within the provisions of
such subdivision two.
(c) The court in such a proceeding may assess, against such
agency involved, reasonable attorney's fees and other
litigation costs reasonably incurred by such person in
any case under the provisions of this section in which
such person has substantially prevailed, provided, that
such attorney's fees and litigation costs may be
recovered only where the court finds that:
i. the record involved was, in fact, of clearly
significant interest to the general public; and
ii. the agency lacked a reasonable basis in law for
withholding the record.
5. (a) (1) A person acting pursuant to law or
regulation who, subsequent to the effective date
of this subdivision, submits any information to
any state agency may, at the time of submission,
request that the agency except such information
from disclosure under paragraph (d) of subdivision
two of section eighty-seven of this article. Where
the request itself contains information which if
disclosed would defeat the purpose for which the
exception is sought, such information shall also
be excepted from disclosure.
(2) The request for an exception shall be in writing
and state the reasons why the information should
be excepted from disclosure.
(3) Information submitted as provided in subparagraph
one of this paragraph shall be excepted from
disclosure and be maintained apart by the agency
from all other records until fifteen days after
the entitlement to such exception has been finally
determined or such further time as ordered by a
court of competent jurisdiction.
(b) On the initiative of the agency at any time, or upon
the request of any person for a record excepted from
disclosure pursuant to this subdivision, the agency
shall:
(1) inform the person who requested the exception of
the agency's intention to determine whether such
exception should be granted or continued;
(2) permit the person who requested the exception,
within ten business days of receipt of
notification from the agency, to submit a written
statement of the necessity for the granting or
continuation of such exception;
(3) within seven business days of receipt of such
written statement, or within seven business days
of the expiration of the period prescribed for
submission of such statement, issue a written
determination granting, continuing or terminating
such exception and stating the reasons therefor;
copies of such determination shall be served upon
the person, if any, requesting the record, the
person who requested the exception, and the
committee on public access to records.
(c) A denial of an exception from disclosure under
paragraph (b) of this subdivision may be appealed by
the person submitting the information and a denial of
access to the record may be appealed by the person
requesting the record in accordance with this
subdivision:
(1) Within seven business days of receipt of written
notice denying the request, the person may file a
written appeal from the determination of the
agency with the head of the agency, the chief
executive officer or governing body or their
designated representatives.
(2) The appeal shall be determined within ten business
days of the receipt of the appeal. Written notice
of the determination shall be served upon the
person, if any, requesting the record, the person
who requested the exception and the committee on
public access to records. The notice shall contain
a statement of the reasons for the determination.
(d) A proceeding to review an adverse determination
pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subdivision may be
commenced pursuant to article seventy-eight of the
civil practice law and rules. Such proceeding must be
commenced within fifteen days of the service of the
written notice containing the adverse determination
provided for in subparagraph two of paragraph (c) of
this subdivision.
(e) The person requesting an exception from disclosure
pursuant to this subdivision shall in all proceedings
have the burden of proving entitlement to the
exception.
(f) Where the agency denies access to a record pursuant to
paragraph (d) of subdivision two of section eighty-
seven of this article, the agency shall have the burden
of proving that the record falls within the provisions
of such exception.
(g) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to deny
any person access, pursuant to the remaining provisions
of this article, to any record or part excepted from
disclosure upon the express written consent of the
person who had requested the exception.
(h) As used in this subdivision the term "agency" or "state
agency" means only a state department, board, bureau,
division, council or office and any public corporation
the majority of whose members are appointed by the
governor.
6. Nothing in this article shall be construed to limit or
abridge any otherwise available right of access at law or in
equity of any party to records.
7. Nothing in this article shall require the disclosure of the
home address of an officer or employee, former officer or
employee, or of a retiree of a public employees' retirement
system; nor shall anything in this article require the
disclosure of the name or home address of a beneficiary of a
public employees' retirement system or of an applicant for
appointment to public employment; provided however, that
nothing in this subdivision shall limit or abridge the right
of an employee organization, certified or recognized for any
collective negotiating unit of an employer pursuant to
article fourteen of the civil service law, to obtain the
name or home address of any officer, employee or retiree of
such employer, if such name or home address is otherwise
available under this article.
8. Any person who, with intent to prevent the public inspection
of a record pursuant to this article, willfully conceals or
destroys any such record shall be guilty of a violation.
Sec. 90. Severability.
If any provision of this article or the application thereof to
any person or circumstances is adjudged invalid by a court of
competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect or impair
the validity of the other provisions of the article or the
application thereof to other persons and circumstances.
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