Op-Ed: After 50 Years, New York’s Freedom Of Information Law Needs Urgent Reform

By Paul Wolf

New York was one of the last states in the nation to pass a Freedom of Information Law.

Assembly Member John Terry from Syracuse first introduced the Freedom of Information bill in 1970. After Terry left the Assembly to serve in Congress, Assembly Member Donald Taylor from Watertown fought for the bill until it was passed by the New York State Legislature and became effective on September 1, 1974.

In 1971, Taylor surveyed 60 state agencies regarding their public disclosure policies. The only agency that expressed any interest in expanding public access to its records was the New York State Consumer Protection Board. The Metropolitan Transportation Agency replied, “None of the records and documents of this agency are available to the public.” At a public hearing Taylor held, the only witness strongly in favor of a Freedom of Information Law was a representative of the NY Civil Liberties Union.

Agencies that submitted letters to Governor Malcolm Wilson opposing the proposed Freedom of Information Law included:

• The Judicial Conference of the State of NY
• NY State Urban Development Corp.
• Association of Towns
• District Attorneys Association
• Conference of Mayors

From the beginning, many government agencies were against providing information to the public. Fifty years later, it is still harder than it should be for the public and news media to obtain information.

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Delays and denials are all too common. In many other states, there are penalties for violating the law, but not in New York. Some states have an independent body with enforcement powers that the public can turn to, but not in New York.

In other states, the Attorney General’s Office will investigate and assist the public in these instances. In New York, the Attorney General will fight the public and news media to prevent information from being released.

Democracy at the local level depends on the public’s right to information. Access to information is the only way the public and news media can hold our elected representatives accountable. 

It is critical that we have a Freedom of Information Law that provides the public with access to information and holds government officials accountable when they fail to comply.

Paul Wolf, President of the New York Coalition For Open Government

Paul Wolf, Esq., is the President of the New York Coalition For Open Government. We believe that if government is of the people, by the people, and for the people, then it should also be open to the people. Government exists to serve its citizens, so access to public information should be simple. Freedom of Information Laws and the NY Open Meetings Law make access to public records a right.