Access to Public Records

Many of the processes of state and local government in New York have been reshaped because of the desire of the public to become more involved. Public concern over the conduct of public officials in the post-Watergate period generated new interest in open government. This interest gave rise to a number of “sunshine” laws and policies governing access to information, open meetings, and regulations of lobbyists. Here are three that offer New Yorkers a more important voice in shaping government decisions an opportunity to strengthen effective environmental policies.

The Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) was enacted in 1974 to assure public access to government records. The law requires that state and local agencies, public corporations, and legislative bodies make almost all of their records available to the public. It also states that any paper filed or used in local government may be inspected and copied by any citizen. Only confidential matters, such as medical histories, are exempted. Any individual may ask for public documents via a "FOIL" letter. Simply address the letter to the agency's "Records Access Officer" and cite the Freedom of Information Law as support for your request. Note that the response may include a charge for copying, and requests can take anywhere from four to twelve weeks to be filled.

The NYS Open Meetings Law, which took effect in 1977, assures that public business is publicly conducted. Under the law, all boards, councils, commissions, advisory groups and local legislative bodes must open their meetings to the public. Executive sessions maybe called on a publicly taken majority vote, but only to consider special matters such as litigation, land acquisition, and matters involve privacy issues of individuals.

The 1978 Lobbying Act ensures public disclosure of information about lobbying activities. It requires any lobbyist or organization that plans to spend more than $1000 toward lobbying to register annually and to file quarterly itemized reports of expenditures. A lobbyist is anyone, other than a member of the legislative body making the decision, who seeks to influence the course of legislation. Lobbyists perform a useful function in supplying legislators with information and technical advice and alerting them to the wishes of certain groups.

In addition to serving on local boards and attending public meetings, local environmental and citizen groups can be your best resource for finding out about the important environmental issues in your particular town or village. Some groups are formed ad hoc around a specific issue or area of concern, and some are local chapters of national organizations. Since it is the purpose of these groups to mobilize citizens for action, they are good resources for finding out the latest information on a crisis issue, reporting on votes affecting a critical resource, evaluating the performance of elected officials, and encouraging citizen participation. A sampling of national, state, and local environmental citizen groups is listed in the directory.