S6599 • 2025

Permits assessment of certain fees and costs upon wrongful denial of access to records under the freedom of information law

Taxes

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: Robert Jackson
Last action: 2026-06-05
Official status: In Senate Committee
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Permits assessment of certain fees and costs upon wrongful denial of access to records under the freedom of information law

Permits assessment of certain fees and costs upon wrongful denial of access to records under the freedom of information law Permits assessment of certain fees and costs upon wrongful denial of access to records under the freedom of information law when either the person has substantially prevailed, or if the agency failed to respond within the statutory time.

What This Bill Does

Permits assessment of certain fees and costs upon wrongful denial of access to records under the freedom of information law Permits assessment of certain fees and costs upon wrongful denial of access to records under the freedom of information law when either the person has substantially prevailed, or if the agency failed to respond within the statutory time.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2026-06-05 Senate
COMMITTED TO RULES
2026-03-12 Senate
ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
2026-03-11 Senate
2ND REPORT CAL.
2026-03-10 Senate
1ST REPORT CAL.531
2026-01-07 Senate
REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
2025-06-13 Senate
COMMITTED TO RULES
2025-06-04 Senate
ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
2025-05-29 Senate
2ND REPORT CAL.
2025-05-28 Senate
1ST REPORT CAL.1443
2025-03-18 Senate
REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

Official Summary Text

Permits assessment of certain fees and costs upon wrongful denial of access to records under the freedom of information law
Permits assessment of certain fees and costs upon wrongful denial of access to records under the freedom of information law when either the person has substantially prevailed, or if the agency failed to respond within the statutory time.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6599

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                                    I N  S E N A T E

                                     March 18, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  JACKSON,  HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered
          printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investi-
          gations and Government Operations

        AN ACT to amend the public  officers  law,  in  relation  to  permitting
          assessment of certain fees and costs upon wrongful denial of access to
          records under the freedom of information law

          THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
        BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

     1    Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 4 of section 89 of the  public
     2  officers  law, as amended by chapter 453 of the laws of 2017, is amended
     3  to read as follows:
     4    (c) The court in such a proceeding: (i) may assess, against such agen-
     5  cy involved, reasonable  attorney's  fees  and  other  litigation  costs
     6  reasonably  incurred  by such person in any case under the provisions of
     7  this [section] ARTICLE in which such person has substantially prevailed,
     8  [and when] OR IN WHICH the agency failed to  respond  to  a  request  or
     9  appeal  within  the  statutory time; and (ii) shall assess, against such
    10  agency involved, reasonable attorney's fees and other  litigation  costs
    11  reasonably  incurred  by such person in any case under the provisions of
    12  this [section] ARTICLE in which such person has substantially  prevailed
    13  and  the court finds that the agency had no reasonable basis for denying
    14  access. NOTHING CONTAINED HEREIN SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO ABRIDGE  OR  DENY
    15  ANY  RIGHT  OR  REMEDY  AVAILABLE  UNDER ARTICLE EIGHTY-SIX OF THE CIVIL
    16  PRACTICE LAW AND RULES.
    17    § 2. This act shall  take  effect  on  the  first  of  September  next
    18  succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.


         EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11124-01-5