Identification of Liability-Related Impediments to Sharing §409 Safety Data among Transportation Agencies and a Synthesis of Best Practices: Appendixes B through E (2006)

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Appendix D Example of a State Freedom of Information Law

PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW, ARTICLE 6 SECTIONS 84-90 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW Section 84 . Legislative declaration Section 84 . Legislative declaration 86 . Definitions 86 . Definitions 85 . Short title 85 . Short title 87. Access to agency records 87. Access to agency records §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 participa- tion of the public in government. As state and local government services increase and public problems become more sophisticated and complex and there- fore harder to solve, and with the resultant increase in revenues and expenditures, it is incumbent upon the state and its locali- ties to extend public accountability wherever and whenever feasible. The people’s right to know the process of decision-making and to review the documents and statistics leading to determi- nations 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 collec- tively 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 govern- ment 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, pro- duced or reproduced by, with or for an agency or the state leg- islature, 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 pub- lic corporation shall promulgate uniform rules and regulations for all agencies in such public corporation pursuant to such gen- eral rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the com- mittee 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 sub- ject enterprise; (e) are compiled for law enforcement purposes d 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 fife or safety of any person; (g) are inter-agency or infra-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 Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 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