Sec. 371.2. Procedures

(a) A request for inspection or copying of a public record of the board shall be made to the secretary of the board in writing, and shall contain sufficient information to identify the particular record sought, including, if possible, information regarding the date, file designation or other information describing the record sought. Any request shall be made either:

(1) in person during regular business hours at the board's office at 30 South Pearl Street, 10th Floor, Albany, NY 12207; or

(2) by mailing such request, postage prepaid, to the secretary, at the aforesaid address.

(b)

(1) Upon receipt of a request for a record reasonably described, the secretary shall promptly determine whether or not the record requested is required to be made available under the provisions of article 6 of the New York Public Officers Law and will, within five business days of the receipt of such request, either:

(i) make such record available to the person requesting it by notifying such person where and when the record may be inspected and copied;

(ii) deny such request in writing; or

(iii) furnish a written acknowledgment of the receipt of such request and a statement of the approximate date when such request will be granted or denied, including, where appropriate, a statement that access to the record will be determined in accordance with the procedure prescribed in section 89(5) of the New York Public Officers Law regarding trade secrets.

(2) If access to records is neither granted, nor denied within 10 business days after the date of acknowledgment of receipt of request, the request may be construed as a denial of access that may be appealed.

(c) Trade secrets.

(1) Records or portions of records constituting trade secrets or which are maintained for the regulation of commercial enterprise which if disclosed would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of the subject enterprise, shall be so designated by the chairman and shall be filed or maintained in secure facilities of the board to which access is limited. Such records or portions of records shall be made available for inspection and study to the members of the board and their designees.

(2) A person acting pursuant to law or regulation who submits any record to the board may, at the time of submission, request that, in accordance with the provisions of section 89(5) of the New York Public Officers Law, such record or any portion thereof be designated as a trade secret or as maintained for the regulation of commercial enterprise which if disclosed would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of the subject enterprise, and be excepted from public disclosure under section 87(2)(d) of such law. Any such request shall identify in writing the record or part thereof sought to be designated and state reasons why such record or portion thereof should be excepted from public disclosure. Within 15 business days of receipt of a written request for an exception, the chairman will either grant or deny such request in writing.

(d)

(1) Records required to be made available for public inspection will be photocopied by the board if practicable and the person requesting a copy will be charged a fee of 25 cents per page for copies not exceeding 9 × 14 inches, or the actual cost of reproducing such records if larger copies are required. If it is not practicable for the board to photocopy any such record, it will be copied commercially and the person requesting the copy will be charged a fee equal to the cost of such commercial reproduction.

(2) Upon payment of, or offer to pay, the fee determined by the board for copying a record required to be made available for public inspection, the board will provide a copy of such record and the secretary will certify to the correctness of such copy if so requested in writing, or, as the case may be, shall certify that the board does not have possession of such record or that such record cannot be found after diligent search.

(3) Any fee charged by the board pursuant to this Part shall be paid by the person making the request in cash, certified check or bank cashier's check, in advance of the delivery of copies of any record referred to in this Part.

(e) Any person who is denied access to a public record of the board by the secretary may, within 30 days of such denial, file an appeal from such denial with the board's chairman. Appeals pursuant to this subdivision shall be decided by the chairman. If an appeal is denied, the reasons therefor shall be explained fully in writing to the person requesting the record within 10 business days of the date on which such appeal is received by the chairman. The chairman will forward to the Committee on Open Government a copy of such appeal and the determination thereon.