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S01204 Summary:

BILL NOS01204
 
SAME ASNo Same As
 
SPONSORCARLUCCI
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §87, Pub Off L; add §114-b, Pub Serv L
 
Relates to records containing trade secrets or confidential commercial information.
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S01204 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          1204
 
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                     January 6, 2017
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by Sen. CARLUCCI -- 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 and the public service  law,  in
          relation to trade secrets
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 of section 87 of the  public
     2  officers  law, as amended by chapter 289 of the laws of 1990, is amended
     3  to read as follows:
     4    (d) are trade secrets or are submitted to an agency  by  a  commercial
     5  enterprise or derived from information obtained from a commercial enter-
     6  prise  and  which  if  disclosed  would  cause substantial injury to the
     7  competitive position of the subject enterprise; for the purposes of this
     8  section, the term "trade  secrets"  shall  mean  any  formula,  pattern,
     9  device  or  compilation  of  information  which  is used in a commercial
    10  enterprise, and which provides an opportunity  to  obtain  an  advantage
    11  over competitors who do not know or have access to it;
    12    §  2.  The public service law is amended by adding a new section 114-b
    13  to read as follows:
    14    § 114-b. Records containing trade secrets or  confidential  commercial
    15  information.  1.  Any  information filed with the commission by a public
    16  utility company in connection with any proceeding relating to  any  rate
    17  or  charge to be imposed on customers shall be presumed to be subject to
    18  public disclosure in accordance with article six of the public  officers
    19  law.
    20    2.  (a)  Any  public  utility company submitting records in connection
    21  with any proceeding relating to any rate or charge imposed on  customers
    22  requesting  trade  secret or confidential commercial status for all or a
    23  portion of the information contained therein shall submit  such  records
    24  to  the  department  and  shall clearly identify the records or portions
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01946-01-7

        S. 1204                             2
 
     1  thereof considered to be confidential. Where the request itself contains
     2  information which if disclosed would defeat the purpose  for  which  the
     3  exception  is  sought,  such  information  shall  also  be excepted from
     4  disclosure until a final determination on the request is made.
     5    (b)  A  public  utility  company  seeking  to  exempt information from
     6  disclosure pursuant to paragraph  (d)  of  subdivision  two  of  section
     7  eighty-seven of the public officers law shall submit such request to the
     8  department in writing and shall, in all cases, present specific, persua-
     9  sive  evidence  that  disclosure  will  cause it to suffer a competitive
    10  injury. Factors to be considers include, but are not limited to:
    11    (i) the extent to which the disclosure can be  demonstrated  to  cause
    12  unfair economic or competitive damage to the public utility company;
    13    (ii)  the  extent  to which the information is known by others and can
    14  involve similar activities;
    15    (iii) The demonstrated worth or value of the information to the public
    16  utility company;
    17    (iv) the degree of difficulty and cost of developing the information;
    18    (v) the ease or difficulty associated with  obtaining  or  duplicating
    19  the  information by others without the public utility company's consent;
    20  and
    21    (vi) other provisions of statute or regulation specifically  exempting
    22  the information from disclosure.
    23    3. Information submitted as provided in this section shall be exempted
    24  from disclosure and be maintained apart by the department from all other
    25  records  until  fifteen days after the entitlement to such exemption has
    26  been finally determined or such further time as ordered by  a  court  of
    27  competent jurisdiction.
    28    4.  The  public  utility  company requesting exemption from disclosure
    29  pursuant to this section shall in all proceedings  have  the  burden  of
    30  proving entitlement to the exemption.
    31    5.  Failure to identify trade secret or confidential commercial infor-
    32  mation at the time of submission may make the information accessible  to
    33  others  without  notice  to the public utility company unless a specific
    34  exemption from disclosure by other statutes or regulations  pertains  to
    35  the information.
    36    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    37  it shall have become a law.
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