PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW, ARTICLE 6
SECTIONS 84-90
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.


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.

85. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as
the "Freedom of Information Law."

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.

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 

(h) are examination questions or answers which are requested
prior to the final administration of such questions;
(i) if disclosed, would jeopardize an agency's capacity to
guarantee the security of its information technology assets, such
assets encompassing both electronic information systems and
infrastructures; or
(j) are photographs, microphotographs, videotape or other
recorded images prepared under authority of section eleven
hundred eleven-a of the vehicle and traffic law.

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.

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;
(i) any other files, records, papers or documents required by law
to be made available for public inspection and copying.

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.

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 government 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 open government 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;
v. disclosure of information of a personal nature reported in
confidence to an agency and not relevant to the ordinary work of
such agency; or
vi.  information of a personal nature contained in a workers'
compensation record, except as provided by section one hundred
ten-a of the workers' compensation law.
(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 acknowledgment 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 open government.

(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 public inspection of a
record pursuant to this article, willfully conceals or destroys any
such record shall be guilty of a violation.

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.

For further information, contact: Committee on Open
Government, NYS Department of State, 41 State Street, Albany,
NY 12231