STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
67
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
ment Operations
AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to permitting
records required to be disclosed under the freedom of information law
to have exempt parts of such documents be redacted before disclosure
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The opening paragraph of subdivision 2 of section 87 of the
2 public officers law, as amended by chapter 808 of the laws of 2021, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 Each agency shall, in accordance with its published rules, make avail-
5 able for public inspection and copying all records, except those records
6 or portions thereof that may be withheld pursuant to the exceptions of
7 rights of access appearing in this subdivision. Except for any record
8 that is exempt from disclosure by state or federal statute pursuant to
9 paragraph (a) of this subdivision, when a record contains portions that
10 may be denied pursuant to this article, as well as portions that must be
11 disclosed, an agency may redact or withhold the portions subject to one
12 or more of the permissible grounds for denial, but shall disclose the
13 remaining portions. A denial of access shall not be based solely on the
14 category or type of such record and shall be valid only when there is a
15 particularized and specific justification for such denial. Each agency
16 shall, in accordance with its published rules, make available for public
17 inspection and copying all records, except that such agency may deny
18 access to records or portions thereof that:
19 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00328-01-5
