S 334: Relates to publishing records of public interest by agencies and the legislature on their websites.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 334 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. SKOUFIS, GOUNARDES, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACKSON, KRUEGER, PARKER, SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to publishing records of public interest by agencies and the state legislature The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 84 of the public officers law, as added by chapter 2 933 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 84. Legislative declaration. The legislature hereby finds that a 4 free society is maintained when government is responsive and responsible 5 to the public, and when the public is aware of governmental actions. The 6 more open a government is with its citizenry, the greater the under- 7 standing and participation of the public in government. 8 As state and local government services increase and public problems 9 become more sophisticated and complex and therefore harder to solve, and 10 with the resultant increase in revenues and expenditures, it is incum- 11 bent upon the state and its localities to extend public accountability 12 wherever and whenever feasible. 13 The people's right to know the process of governmental decision-making 14 and to review the documents and statistics leading to determinations is 15 basic to our society. Access to such information should not be thwarted 16 by shrouding it with the cloak of secrecy or confidentiality. 17 Since the freedom of information law was first adopted, advances in 18 technology have enhanced the ability to gain access to and widely 19 disseminate public information. Accordingly, the legislature finds that 20 government agencies, when agencies have the ability to do so, should 21 publish records proactively on the internet that are of public interest 22 and available under this article. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01424-01-5 
 S. 334 2 1 The legislature therefore declares that government is the public's 2 business and that the public, individually and collectively and repres- 3 ented by a free press, should have access to the records of government 4 in accordance with the provisions of this article. 5 § 2. Section 90 of the public officers law is renumbered section 90-a 6 and a new section 90 is added to read as follows: 7 § 90. Records of public interest. 1. Each agency and house of the 8 state legislature shall publish, on its internet website, when the agen- 9 cy or house of the state legislature has the ability to do so, records 10 or portions of records that are available to the public pursuant to the 11 provisions of this article, and which, in consideration of their nature, 12 content or subject matter, are determined by the agency to be of 13 substantial interest to the public. Any such records may be removed from 14 the internet website when the agency or house of the state legislature 15 determines that they are no longer of substantial interest to the 16 public. Any such records may be removed from the internet website when 17 they have reached the end of their legal retention period. Guidance on 18 creating records in accessible formats and ensuring their continuing 19 accessibility shall be available from the office for technology and the 20 state archives. 21 2. The provisions of subdivision one of this section shall not apply 22 to records or portions of records the disclosure of which would consti- 23 tute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy in accordance with 24 subdivision two of section eighty-nine of this article. 25 3. The committee on open government shall promulgate regulations to 26 effectuate this section. 27 4. Nothing in this section shall be construed as to limit or abridge 28 the power of an agency or house of the state legislature to publish 29 records on its internet website that are subject to the provisions of 30 this article prior to a written request or prior to a frequent request. 31 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 32 have become a law.