FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) governs public access to New York State government records. It establishes a general right to access records held by government agencies, with specific exceptions. A request must be submitted in writing to the agency's records access officer. The agency then has 5 days to grant or deny the request and up to 20 days total to respond. Denials can be appealed first within the agency and then through an Article 78 civil proceeding. The Committee on Open Government oversees FOIL implementation.

1. FOIL in New York State
(Freedom Of Information Law)
Erin Brennan
GSLIS 732
Prof. Carey Stumm

2. What is FOIL?
• Freedom of Information Law
• New York State Public Officers Law §84-90
• Became effective January 1, 1978
• Governs the rights of the public to access
records in control or possession of the
government for State of New York.
• FOIL defines a “record” as “any information
kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced
by, with or for an agency... in any physical
form whatsoever. . .” (§86(4)).

3. How does FOIL relate to library
and information science?
• As information
professionals/librarians/archivists, it is
important to know laws like FOIL in order to
obtain materials for collections, guide patrons
to obtain information on their own etc.,.
• Libraries, archives, etc., are disseminators of
information and as such, we need to know how
to get information and have the ability to
educate others.

4. Why do we need laws like FOIL?
• The belief that a transparency in government
leads to greater understanding and participation
of its citizenry.
• To hold the government accountable
• All records are considered are subject to FOIL,
but there are exceptions to that rule due to some
personal and private information that may be
held in those records.

5. Who oversees FOIL enforcement?
• The Committee on Open Government oversees the
implementation of FOIL. The Committee is
comprised of 11 members (5 from government, 6
from the public) .
• The five government members are the Lieutenant
Governor, (New York) Secretary of State, the
Commissioner of General Services, the Director of
the Budget, and one local elected official appointed
by the Governor.
• Two of the six public members must be, or have
been, representatives of news media.
• Generally, this body does not maintain records.

6. What is disclosable under FOIL?
• FOIL is based on the presumption of access (i.e.
the public has a right to see whatever it is they
ask for). However, there are several exceptions
to that rule.
• Exceptions are (ideally) to be narrowly
interpreted.
• It is the agency’s responsibility to justify not
disclosing information. It is not the burden of
the requestor to justify why he/she is looking for
the requested records/documentation.

7. What records are subject to FOIL?
• All agency records are accessible, except records
(or portions thereof) that fall within one of 9
categories of deniable records (section 87(2) of
NY Public Officers Law).

8. The Exceptions
• *All exceptions to FOIL are listed in New York
Public Officers Law §87(2)
• (a) are specifically exempted from disclosure
by state or federal statute;
• (b) would, if disclosed, result in an
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

9. The Exceptions (cont.)
• (c) would, if disclosed, impair present or
imminent contract awards or collective
bargaining negotiations;
• (d) are trade secrets or are submitted to an
agency by a commercial enterprise or derived
from information obtained from a commercial
enterprise and which if disclosed would cause
substantial injury to the competitive position of
the subject enterprise;

10. The Exceptions (cont.)
• (e) are compiled for law enforcement purposes
and which if disclosed would:
▫ interfere with law enforcement investigations or
judicial proceedings;
▫ deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or impartial
adjudication;
▫ identify a confidential source or disclose
confidential information relative to a criminal
investigation; or
▫ reveal criminal investigative techniques or
procedures, except routine techniques and
procedures;

11. The Exceptions (cont.)
• (f) could if disclosed endanger the life or safety of
any person;
• (g) are inter-agency or intra-agency
communications, except to the extent that such
materials consist of:
▫ statistical or factual tabulations or data;
▫ instructions to staff that affect the public;
▫ final agency policy or determinations; or
▫ external audits, including but not limited to audits
performed by the comptroller and the federal government;

12. The Exceptions (cont.)
• (h) are examination questions or answers that are
requested prior to the final administration of such
questions; or
• (i) if disclosed, would jeopardize an agency's
capacity to guarantee the security of its
information technology assets, such assets
encompassing both electronic information systems
and infrastructures; or
• (j) are photographs, microphotographs, videotape
or other recorded images prepared under authority
of section eleven hundred eleven-a of the vehicle
and traffic law.
▫ * NB Repealed December 1, 2014

13. The Exceptions (cont.)
• * (k) are photographs, microphotographs, videotape
or other recorded images prepared under
authority of section eleven hundred eleven-b of the
vehicle and traffic law.
▫ * NB Repealed December 1, 2014
• * (l) are photographs, microphotographs, videotape
or other recorded images produced by a bus lane
photo device prepared under authority of section
eleven hundred eleven-c of the vehicle and traffic
law.
▫ * NB Repealed September 20, 2015

14. How to make a request pursuant to
FOIL
• All requests must be in writing to the appropriate
agency’s “records access officer” and specify what
you’re requesting. All agencies has the right to
“reject” a request that does not adequately specify
the information requested.
• Pursuant to §89(3)(a) of FOIL, the agency has 5
business days to grant/deny access in whole or in
part. If more time is needed for the request, the
agency must give an approximate date by which they
will respond. This should not typically exceed 20
business days.

15. How to make a request pursuant to
FOIL (cont.)
• If the agency does not respond in the time allotted
by law, this could constitute a denial of your request.
• But there is some good news – you can appeal!
• Appeals must be made within 30 days to the person
appointed by the agency to deal with appeals.
• If the appeal is not responded to within 10 days, the
appeal is considered denied.
• But more good news – you can appeal again! The
applicable statute for this is Article 78 of the Civil
Practice Laws and Rules (which relates to
proceeding against a body or an officer).

16. As far as fees are concerned
• Fees for records can vary depending on format,
how long it takes to pull and compile records
etc., however you can inspect the records for
free.

17. Useful Resources
• FOIL Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.dos.ny.gov/coog/freedomfaq.html
• New York Civil Practice Law and Rules
http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/CVP
• The New York State Unified Court System
http://nycourts.gov/

18. Works Cited
• New York State Public Officers Law §84-90
• New York Public Officers Law §87(2)