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A09570 Summary:

BILL NOA09570
 
SAME ASSAME AS S06863
 
SPONSORHyndman
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd 359 & 6233, Ed L
 
Relates to reporting requirements of SUNY and CUNY; relates to financial information and identifying vendor information of each contract; relates to a list of all foundation and state university employees by campus, department and location including salaries, job titles and descriptions.
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A09570 Actions:

BILL NOA09570
 
03/20/2024referred to higher education
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A09570 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A9570
 
SPONSOR: Hyndman
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the education law, in relation to reporting requirements of the state university of New York and city university of New York   PURPOSE: The purpose of this bill is to require the State and City universities of New York to produce an annual report to be published online which would disclose their financial records, including vendors, employees and general accounting information for any research foundations which are owned and operated by public colleges and community colleges.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1. Amends section 359 of the education law, adding subdivision 5 requiring the State University of New York to produce an annual report regarding their financial information. Section 2. Amends section 6233 of the education law requiring the City University of New York to produce the same report. Adds a section defin- ing exemptions that do not have to be included in disclosure reports. Section 3. Sets forth the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: The Freedom of Information Law has played a crucial role in opening up the operations of government agencies to public discussion and report- ing. This has increased accountability and responsiveness of government agencies. However, the current definition of agencies covered by the FOIL law leaves out certain types of agencies that are technically not agencies of state or local government. These entities are often incorporated as not for profit corporations or limited liability corporations, but oper- ate in effect as subsidiaries of state agencies. For example the SUNY Research Foundation is incorporated as a not for profit but operates as an extensions of SUNY and is controlled by SUNY officials. The Research Foundation describes itself as "the organization responsible for manag- ing research grants and other sponsored programs for SUNY." Yet corpo- rations of this type often refuse to disclose information to the press and the public on the basis that they are not state agencies as defined in the law. This bill proposes that these corporations would have to disclose their finances publicly each year online. These organizations spend millions of dollars of funds that were received grants or donations that were intended to either the public purpose of their affiliated state agency. The shell of a separate corporate entity should not be used as an excuse to deny public access to Information about how they use these funds.   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2017-18 S.2214B/ A.5929B 2015-16 S.19B/A.5379B; 2013-14 S.2224B/A.7554B; 2011-12 S.5797A/A.7789E   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect January 1, 2024.
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A09570 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          9570
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     March 20, 2024
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. HYNDMAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Higher Education
 
        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to reporting requirements
          of the state university of New York and city university of New York
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 359 of the education law is amended by adding a new
     2  subdivision 5 to read as follows:
     3    5.  The trustees of the state university of New York shall require, on
     4  or before November first of each year, an annual report of the  research
     5  foundation  of the state university of New York, and an annual report of
     6  state-operated institutions' and community colleges' campus  foundations
     7  and  their subsidiaries, in a standardized format developed by the chan-
     8  cellor. The annual reports required by this subdivision shall be  posted
     9  publicly on the website of the state university of New York in a machine
    10  readable  format  by  November  first  of  each  year. The reports shall
    11  include, but not be limited to:
    12    a. financial reports, including: audited financials in accordance with
    13  all applicable regulations and following generally  accepted  accounting
    14  principles  as  defined  in  subdivision ten of section two of the state
    15  finance law, and any long-term liabilities;
    16    b. a list of all contracts, including amount, purpose and  identifying
    17  vendor information of each contract; and
    18    c.  a list of all foundation and state university employees by campus,
    19  department and job location, and the amount spent by campus,  department
    20  and  job  location which shall include annual employee salaries or other
    21  compensation, employee job titles and descriptions  and  employee  bene-
    22  fits.
    23    §  2.  Section  6233  of  the education law is amended by adding a new
    24  subdivision 4 to read as follows:
    25    4. The trustees of the city university of New York shall  require,  on
    26  or  before November first of each year, an annual report of the research
    27  foundation of the city university of New York, and an annual  report  of
    28  senior  colleges'  and  community colleges' campus foundations and their
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03327-01-3

        A. 9570                             2
 
     1  subsidiaries, in a standardized format developed by the chancellor.  The
     2  annual  reports required by this subdivision shall be posted publicly on
     3  the website of the city university of New York  in  a  machine  readable
     4  format,  by  November first of each year. The reports shall include, but
     5  not be limited to:
     6    a. financial reports, including: audited financials in accordance with
     7  all applicable regulations and following generally  accepted  accounting
     8  principles  as  defined  in  subdivision ten of section two of the state
     9  finance law, and any long-term liabilities;
    10    b. a list of all contracts, including amount, purpose and  identifying
    11  vendor information of each contract; and
    12    c.  a list of all foundation and state university employees by campus,
    13  department and job location, and the amount spent by campus,  department
    14  and  job  location which shall include annual employee salaries or other
    15  compensation, employee job titles and descriptions  and  employee  bene-
    16  fits.
    17    §  3. The reports required in sections one and two of this act may not
    18  disclose the following information that: (a)  is  specifically  exempted
    19  from  disclosure  by  state  or  federal statute; (b) if disclosed would
    20  constitute  an  unwarranted  invasion  of  personal  privacy  under  the
    21  provisions  of  subdivision  2 of section 89 of the public officers law;
    22  (c) if disclosed would impair present or  imminent  contract  awards  or
    23  collective bargaining negotiations; (d) are trade secrets or are submit-
    24  ted  to an entity by a commercial enterprise or derived from information
    25  obtained from a commercial enterprise and which if disclosed would cause
    26  substantial injury to the competitive position  of  the  subject  enter-
    27  prise;  (e)  are  records  of an entity relating to charitable donors or
    28  prospective donors, including but not limited to the fund-raising strat-
    29  egies of agencies identified in subdivision  3  of  section  86  of  the
    30  public  officers  law,  provided  that  records relating to fund-raising
    31  strategies would, if disclosed, impair the ability of those entities  to
    32  attract  or  gain  donations,  and provided further that the name of any
    33  donor and the amount of donation made by such donor shall be subject  to
    34  disclosure  if  such  donor,  or  any  entity  in which such donor has a
    35  substantial interest, seeks to transact business, or does transact busi-
    36  ness, with the entity to which the donation is made within  three  years
    37  of  the  date  of  such  donation;  and  (f)  are academic or scientific
    38  research or research-related records, including any  draft,  preliminary
    39  or  unfunded grant or contract document, whether sponsored by the entity
    40  itself or in conjunction with a third party, or records relating to  the
    41  entity's  intellectual  property,  which,  if disclosed, would adversely
    42  affect license, patent, copyright or other rights of  the  entity.  This
    43  section shall not permit an entity to withhold records or portions ther-
    44  eof  pertaining  to  the  name,  title, expenditure, source or amount of
    45  public funding relating to such research or intellectual property.
    46    § 4.  Nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  construed  to  supersede  the
    47  provisions of chapter 10 of the laws of 2006.
    48    § 5. This act shall take effect January 1, 2024.
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