Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a) The
records access officer may deny access to records or portions thereof that are
exempt from disclosure under the laws of the State of New York or the United
States, or deny access to records or portions of records that constitute
critical infrastructure information or trade secrets or are maintained for the
regulation of commercial enterprise which, if disclosed, would cause
substantial injury to the competitive position of the subject enterprise.
(1) Any person who submits information to the
department, which is not otherwise exempted from disclosure under the laws of
the State of New York or the United States, may request that the department
except such information from disclosure as critical infrastructure information
or a trade secret pursuant to sections
86(5),
87(2) and
89(5) of the Public Officers
Law. Where the request itself contains information which, if disclosed, would
defeat the purpose for which the exception is sought, such information will
also be excepted from disclosure.
(2) The request for an exception must be in
writing, specify the information or portions thereof for which the exception is
requested, and state the reasons why such information should be excepted from
disclosure.
(3) Records or parts of
records identified as critical infrastructure information or trade secrets at
submission shall be charged to the custody of the head of the division, bureau
or office with which they are filed. That individual shall be entitled to
inspect these records, shall identify the persons under his or her supervision
who may inspect and copy these records and shall specify the safeguards for
preventing unauthorized access to these records. The secretary and other
persons within the department specifically designated by the secretary shall be
entitled to inspect these records. Also, the designated records access officer,
assistant records access officer(s), records appeals officer and assistant
records appeals officer(s) shall be entitled to inspect and copy these
records.
(b) The records
access officer shall, at any time, or upon receipt of a request for disclosure
of critical infrastructure information or trade secrets, determine whether the
request for exception will be granted, continued, terminated or denied. Before
doing so, such officer shall:
(1) notify the
person who requested the exception that a determination is to be made, and of
such person's right to submit a written statement, within 10 business days of
the notice, regarding the necessity for granting or continuing the exception
from disclosure;
(2) permit the
person who requested the exception, within 10 business days of receipt of
notification from the department, to submit a written statement of the
necessity for the granting or continuation of such exception; and
(3) within seven business days of receipt of
such written statement, or within seven business days of the expiration of the
period prescribed for submission of such statement, issue a written
determination granting, continuing or terminating such exception and stating
the reasons therefor; copies of such determination shall be mailed to the
person, if any, requesting the record, the person who requested the exception,
and the Committee on Open Government.
(c) A denial of an exception from disclosure
under subdivision (b) of this section may be appealed by the person submitting
the information, and a denial of access to the record may be appealed by the
person requesting the record in accordance with the procedure outlined in
section
80.7
of this Part.
