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A05854 Summary:

BILL NOA05854A
 
SAME ASSAME AS S04775-A
 
SPONSORSchimminger (MS)
 
COSPNSRAbinanti, Gottfried, Galef, Englebright, Simon, Sepulveda, Colton, Cahill, Buchwald, Bronson, Rozic, Woerner, Epstein, Kim, Norris
 
MLTSPNSRCook, Hyndman, Jenne, Magee, Morinello, Ortiz, Thiele
 
Amd §86, Pub Off L
 
Relates to expanding the definition of agency; includes entities created by an agency or that are governed by a board of directors or similar body a majority of which is designated by one or more state or local government officials in the definition of agency under the public officers law.
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A05854 Actions:

BILL NOA05854A
 
02/16/2017referred to governmental operations
05/08/2017amend and recommit to governmental operations
05/08/2017print number 5854a
01/03/2018referred to governmental operations
06/06/2018held for consideration in governmental operations
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A05854 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A5854A
 
SPONSOR: Schimminger (MS)
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to expanding the definition of agency   PURPOSE OF THE BILL: This bill would require that an entity created by a government agency or a subsidiary or affiliate of a government agency will be subject to the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: § 1- Amends subdivision 3 of § 86 of the Public Officers Law to expand the definition of "Agency" to include entities created by an agency or that are governed by a board of directors or similar body a majority of which is designated by one or more state or local government officials. § 2- Effective date.   DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION: Technical correction on line 7 of the bill to change the word "or" to "and".   JUSTIFICATION: Recently, the New York State Department of State's Committee on Open Government released its annual report. This report included several proposals crafted to provide greater and more effective government tran- sparency, including this proposed legislation. As the report states, the proposals are, "an effort to foster the government's duty to be account- able to those that it serves." Specifically on the issue of FOIL, the report states, "A significant element of a recent investigation by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York focused on nonprofit entities associ- ated with the State University (SUNY). Efforts by the news media to gain access to records of those entities have been rebuffed, despite our view that many are and have been required to comply with FOIL. FOIL applies to agency records. To ensure that the records of entities created by government are subject to FOIL, the definition of "agency" in § 86(3) should be amended to mean: "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 func- tion for the state or any one or more municipalities thereof, as well as entities created by an agency or that are governed by a board of direc- tors or similar body a majority of which is designated by one or more state or local government officials, except the judiciary or the state legislature."' In addition, the report "emphasized that the receipt of government fund- ing or entering into contractual relationships with a government agency does not transform a private entity into a government agency. Rather, the Committee's proposal is limited to those entities which, despite their corporate status, are subsidiaries or affiliates of a government agency." In the hopes of rebuilding the public's faith in their government by furthering transparency and expanding access to information, this legis- lation would require that an entity created by a government agency or a subsidiary or affiliate of a government agency will now be subject to the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
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