Groups Urge Senate Leader Stewart-Cousins to Move FOIL Reporting Bill
May 28, 2025
VIA EMAIL
Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins
New York State Senate
Dear Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins,
We strongly urge you to include S452 (Hoylman-Sigal), which would require state agencies to report on FOIL activity, on the Senate Rules committee agenda next week.
This bill has passed the Assembly twice and is supported by 18 media, transparency, and watchdog groups. This FOIL reporting bill asks New York to do what the federal government has done for decades – keep basic information about FOIL requests and responses. The Senate central staff and Committee on Open Government have been extensively briefed on the bill and have not raised objections. Yet, despite the significant level of public support and staff vetting, the Senate has not advanced the bill in the two sessions since it was introduced.
S452 requires state agencies to publicly report how many FOIL requests they’ve received, how many they’ve closed, and how long they take to respond to requests. It would give the public insight into which agencies are following the law, which are falling behind, and what can be done to help laggard agencies catch up with the best.
New York’s FOIL process is verging on dysfunction, and S452 would help diagnose what exactly the problems are and how to fix them. Please move this crucial legislation by including it on the agenda for the next Rules committee meeting to ensure it passes before the end of the legislative session.
Sincerely,
Reinvent Albany
Citizens Union
Common Cause/NY
Earthjustice
Freedom of the Press Foundation
League of Women Voters of New York State
The Legal Aid Society
New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU)
New York Coalition for Open Government
Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.)