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Assembly passes bill requiring three-year renewal for FOIL trade-secret exemptions
Summary
Lawmakers approved an amendment to the Public Officers Law that limits trade-secret FOIL exemptions to three-year terms with a required reapplication window; proponents said it increases transparency while opponents warned it could chill business contracting and risk accidental disclosure.
The New York State Assembly on March 19 passed an amendment to the Public Officers Law requiring businesses and other entities to reapply every three years to maintain trade-secret or critical-infrastructure exemptions from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Law.
Sponsor testimony, framed as a Sunshine Week measure, argued the change balances confidentiality and the public's right to access records. During debate the sponsor explained that "a business could ask for an exemption for up to 3 years," and that information submitted after the bill's effective date would be governed by the new rule. Questioners asked how agencies would implement renewals and whether the change would require an agency notification system; the sponsor said the bill places the onus on the record-holder and that the statute applies to records submitted subsequent to the law's effective date.
Opponents repeatedly raised the prospect of harms if a renewal is missed — "you can't unring that bell," one member said — noting that an inadvertent lapse could disclose commercially valuable material and potentially expose the state to liability. Members pressed whether there is any statewide accounting of how many records are currently protected; the sponsor acknowledged no such count exists. The floor called a party vote; the clerk announced Ayes 99, Nos 49. The bill passed.
The act's text and sponsor statements specify the three-year renewable term and a 60-day pre-expiration reapplication window. The Assembly's vote record and the bill's effective-date language indicate the rule applies to records submitted after the chapter becomes law; existing exemptions granted prior to that date remain governed by the law in force at the time they were granted.
The sponsor and several opponents said agency practices and administrative processes (reminders, appeals) will determine how frequently enforcement disputes arise; the bill's text retains an appeal path for denials of extension requests.
