PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:
Proposed Action:
This is a consensus rule making to repeal section 587.1; and add new section 587.1 to Title 9 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Executive Law, section 804(9); Public Officers Law, section 87
Subject:
Access to Agency Records.
Purpose:
To conform Adirondack Park Agency rules to the Public Officers Law and rules promulgated by the Committee on Open Government.
Text of proposed rule:
Section 587.1 is repealed and a new section 587.1 is adopted to read as follows:
587.1 Access to Agency Records:
(a) Purpose. The agency shall provide access to records as required by, and in conformance with article 6 of the Public Officers Law, entitled "Freedom of Information Law,” and its implementing regulations in 21 NYCRR Part 1401. This section provides the regulations of the agency required by 21 NYCRR section 1401.1.
(b) Records access officer. One or more designated project administrators shall be the agency’s records access officer(s). The business address of the records access officer(s) is at the Adirondack Park Agency, PO Box 99, Ray Brook, NY 12977. The email address of the records access officer is FOIL@apa.ny.gov. The record access officer(s) shall have the responsibilities set forth in 21 NYCRR section 1401.2. If at any time no project administrator has been designated as the agency’s records access officer, then the agency’s counsel shall be the records access officer.
(c) Requests for access to records. Records may be requested by email or by a writing mailed or otherwise delivered to the business address of the records access officer. Oral requests may be accepted at the discretion of the records access officer. Records may be available to a requestor via the internet or shall be available for public inspection and copying at the Adirondack Park Agency, 1133 NYS Route 86, Ray Brook, New York 12977.
(d) Hours for public inspection. Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and records produced during all hours that the agency is regularly open for business. Except on State holidays, or during weather or other emergencies, these hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Responses to requests shall be made in conformance with 21 NYCRR section 1401.5.
(e) Requests for exceptions from disclosure of records. A person submitting records to the agency may identify information therein for which an exception from disclosure is requested by specifying the specific provision of the Freedom of Information Law under which exception is authorized and the facts, in reasonable detail, supporting the request. The records access officer(s) shall identify the person(s) within the agency who shall have custody and/or access to such information and the manner of safeguarding against unauthorized access to such information until fifteen days after the entitlement to such exception has been finally determined or such further time as ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction. The determination of any entitlement to any requested exception shall be made by the agency no later than the last date specified in 21 NYCRR section 1401.5 for response to a request for the record.
(f) Appeal of denials. Any person denied access to records, or denied a requested exception from disclosure of records, in whole or in part, may appeal in writing to the agency’s counsel unless the agency counsel was the records access officer making the denial in which case the appeal shall be made to the agency’s executive director. The business address of the agency’s counsel is P.O. Box 99, Ray Brook, New York 12977. The rules applicable to an appeal shall be those set forth in 21 NYCRR section 1401.7.
Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Paul Van Cott, Associate Attorney, Adirondack Park Agency, P.O. Box 99, Ray Brook, New York 12977, (518) 891-4050, email: APARuleMaking@apa.ny.gov
Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
Same as above.
Public comment will be received until:
45 days after publication of this notice.
Consensus Rule Making Determination
The Adirondack Park Agency has determined that the proposed rule is a consensus rule that no person is likely to object to because it was developed with public input, corrects inaccuracies in and updates the existing rule, and otherwise does not change the Agency’s responsibilities for complying with the Freedom of Information Law.
Job Impact Statement
A job impact statement (JIS) is not submitted for these proposed rules because they are not expected to create any substantial adverse impact upon jobs and employment opportunities in the Adirondack Park.
The goal of this rule making is to eliminate Adirondack Park Agency (“Agency”) rules that duplicate requirements and procedures of the Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”) set forth in Article 6 of the Public Officers Law and the Committee on Open Government’s (“COOG”) FOIL rules in 21 NYCRR Part 1401. The proposed rules would ensure conformance with FOIL and COOG’s rules without duplication of those requirements and procedures, by limiting Agency FOIL regulations to those specifically necessary for the Agency’s implementation of FOIL.
Section 201-a of SAPA defines job impact as a “change in the number of jobs and employment opportunities” attributable to the adoption of the rule. A “substantial adverse impact on jobs” is defined as “a decrease of more than 100 full-time annual jobs and employment opportunities.”
There will be no change in employment opportunities due to the proposed rules. The proposed rules will only serve to improve the conformance of the Agency’s FOIL rules with FOIL and 22 NYCRR Part 1401.
Accordingly, a JIS is not required for the proposed rules.
