New York’s transparency laws have no enforcement behind them. The Committee on Open Government can only advise, and the only remedy for a violation is an expensive Article 78 lawsuit. We draft legislation and work with lawmakers to change that.
bills on our 2026 legislative agenda
bills passed the Assembly and Senate
written into law in 2021
towns still offer no public comment period
Four states, California, Florida, Louisiana, and Montana, guarantee open government in their constitutions. New York does not. This amendment would make access to records and meetings a fundamental right that future legislatures cannot quietly erode:
“The right to public information, being a necessary and vital part of democracy and public deliberation, shall be a fundamental right of the people.”
Winning a FOIL or Open Meetings lawsuit does not mean you get your legal costs back. New York’s attorney-fee statute is weaker than many other states’, so agencies can stall with little risk. This bill makes fee awards the norm when the public wins, unless the agency relied on published precedent on substantially similar facts. When the public wins transparency cases, they should not be left footing the bill.
Officials are required to follow FOIL and the Open Meetings Law, but many were never trained on them. This bill requires two hours of annual training, one hour on each law, for local officers, clerks, attorneys, and records access officers. Better-trained officials mean fewer delays, denials, and violations.
Public bodies would have to offer hybrid meetings with videoconferencing and closed captioning, so residents who work nights, care for someone, or live far from the meeting room can still watch and participate. The bill makes the temporary hybrid provisions permanent and creates a grant fund to help municipalities afford the technology.
Today, if your FOIL request or Open Meetings complaint is ignored, your only recourse is a lawsuit. We have drafted a bill creating independent hearing officers instead. The model already works: since 1982, New York’s Small Claims Assessment Review has let homeowners challenge tax assessments for a $30 filing fee. In 2020 alone it resolved 102,000 cases.
New York’s Open Meetings Law does not require a public comment period, and 177 towns offer none, as our research documented. At least 13 states, including California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, mandate public comment. The right to be heard should not depend on where you live.
Agencies must now post documents scheduled for discussion online, or provide them on request, at least 24 hours before a public meeting. The coalition’s research and advocacy helped drive the change.
Public bodies must post meeting minutes online within two weeks of an open meeting, and within one week for action taken in executive session. Government decisions are now easier to find and to check.
