NY Bills improve public awareness
A bill that cleared the state Legislature Tuesday will give New Yorkers access to more information in advance of public meetings so they can understand what their elected officials are doing.
School boards, town and village governments, city councils and county lawmakers would have to make available to the public at least 72 hours before a meeting any documents that might be discussed at the meeting, if the documents are subject to public information laws.
Some boards may voluntarily make the material available now in some instances, such as providing them to the news media. However, the legislation that passed the Senate this week and the Assembly last month would mandate the release, and not just to the media or other groups. Everyone would have access.
With the information available prior to a board meeting, the public would be able to better understand and follow the official discussion. An informed public would be better prepared to question board and council members and to comment on matters before the board acts rather than after the fact, particularly when there are controversial topics.
Both chambers have separately passed other bills aimed at opening state governments. A Senate bill would require public boards and agencies to keep in mind the ability to retrieve public records under the Freedom of Information Law when designing their information systems.
Under an Assembly measure, public agencies would have to post meeting notices on their Web site, a reasonable requirement in today's era of easy access and extensive reliance on the Internet as a source of information.
Another Assembly bill would allow the public to record meetings. Again, news media from time to time may videotape or photograph all or parts of a meeting, but the bill would allow the public to do so as well provided that it does not disrupt the proceedings. The value of such recordings is evident by providing an alternative record.
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