According to news reports, Shoshanah Bewlay, general counsel for the NY State Office of Information Technology Services, will take over this week as the executive director of the Committee on Open Government. Reinvent Albany is glad to see a permanent leader appointed to COOG. We wish Executive Director Bewlay well as she serves as the public’s new champion for open government.
We look forward to the director embracing her new role as an independent voice for Freedom of Information and Open Meeting Laws, and are optimistic that her experience as a lawyer for an executive branch agency will help her provide pragmatic and useful guidance to state and local officials.
The Committee on Open Government released its 2019 annual report just before the holidays, and Reinvent Albany issued a statement supporting many of its recommendations for improving the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). Governor Cuomo also signed into law one FOIL bill (S4685-A/A414-A) while vetoing another (A.3939/S.5496) regarding speeding FOIL-related court proceedings. Reinvent Albany backed both bills.