Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(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 x 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.