Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a) Purpose and
scope.
(1) The people's right to know the
process of government decision-making and the documents and statistics leading
to determinations is basic to our society. Access to such information should
not be thwarted by shrouding it with the cloak of secrecy of
confidentiality.
(2) These
regulations provide information concerning the procedures by which records may
be obtained.
(3) Personnel shall
furnish to the public the information and records required by the Freedom of
Information Law, as well as records otherwise available by law.
(4) Any conflicts among laws governing public
access to records shall be construed in favor of the widest possible
availability of public records.
(b) Designation of records access officer.
(1) The Office of Victim Services is
responsible for insuring compliance with the regulations herein, and designates
the counsel to the Office of Victim Services as records access
officer.
(2) The records access
officer is responsible for insuring appropriate agency response to public
requests for access to records. The designation of a records access officer
shall not be construed to prohibit officials who have in the past been
authorized to make records or information available to the public from
continuing to do so. The records access officer shall insure that agency
personnel:
(i) maintain an up-to-date subject
matter list;
(ii) assist persons
seeking records to identify the records sought, if necessary, and when
appropriate, indicate the manner in which the records are filed, retrieved or
generated to assist persons in reasonably describing records;
(iii) contact persons seeking records when a
request is voluminous or when locating the records involves substantial effort,
so that personnel may ascertain the nature of records of primary interest and
attempt to reasonably reduce the volume of records requested;
(iv) upon locating the records, take one of
the following actions:
(a) make records
available for inspection; or
(b)
deny access to the records in whole or in part and explain in writing the
reasons therefor;
(v)
upon request for copies of records:
(a) make
a copy available upon payment or offer to pay established fees, if any, in
accordance with subdivision (h) of this section; or
(b) permit the requester to copy those
records;
(vi) upon
request, certify that a record is a true copy; and
(vii) upon failure to locate records, certify
that:
(a) the Office of Victim Services is not
the custodian for such records; or
(b) the records of which the Office of Victim
Services is a custodian cannot be found after diligent search.
(c) Location.
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at: New York State
Office of Victim Services, Alfred E. Smith State Office Building, 80 South Swan
Street, 2nd Floor, Albany, NY 12210-8002.
(d) Hours for public inspection. Requests for
public access to records shall be accepted and records produced during all
hours regularly open for business. These hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
(e) Requests for
public access to records.
(1) A written
request may be required, but oral requests may be accepted when records are
readily available.
(2) If records
are maintained on the internet, the requester shall be informed that the
records are accessible via the internet and in printed form either on paper or
other information storage medium.
(3) A response shall be given within five
business days of receipt of a request by:
(i)
informing a person requesting records that the request or portion of the
request does not reasonably describe the records sought, including direction,
to the extent possible, that would enable that person to request records
reasonably described;
(ii) granting
or denying access to records in whole or in part;
(iii) acknowledging the receipt of a request
in writing, including an approximate date when the request will be granted or
denied in whole or in part, which shall be reasonable under the circumstances
of the request and shall not be more than 20 business days after the date of
the acknowledgment, or if it is known that circumstances prevent disclosure
within 20 business days from the date of such acknowledgment, providing a
statement in writing indicating the reason for inability to grant the request
within that time and a date certain, within a reasonable period under the
circumstances of the request, when the request will be granted in whole or in
part; or
(iv) if the receipt of
request was acknowledged in writing and included an approximate date when the
request would be granted in whole or in part within 20 business days of such
acknowledgment, but circumstances prevent disclosure within that time,
providing a statement in writing within 20 business days of such acknowledgment
specifying the reason for the inability to do so and a date certain, within a
reasonable period under the circumstances of the request, when the request will
be granted in whole or in part.
(4) In determining a reasonable time for
granting or denying a request under the circumstances of a request, personnel
shall consider the volume of a request, the ease or difficulty in locating,
retrieving or generating records, the complexity of the request, the need to
review records to determine the extent to which they must be disclosed, the
number of requests received by the agency, and similar factors that bear on the
ability to grant access to records promptly and within a reasonable
time.
(5) A failure to comply with
the time limitations described herein shall constitute a denial of a request
that may be appealed. Such failure shall include situations in which an officer
or employee:
(i) fails to grant access to the
records sought, deny access in writing or acknowledge the receipt of a request
within five business days of the receipt of a request;
(ii) acknowledges the receipt of a request
within five business days but fails to furnish an approximate date when the
request will be granted or denied in whole or in part;
(iii) furnishes an acknowledgment of the
receipt of a request within five business days with an approximate date for
granting or denying access in whole or in part that is unreasonable under the
circumstances of the request;
(iv)
fails to respond to a request within a reasonable time after the approximate
date given or within 20 business days after the date of the acknowledgment of
the receipt of a request;
(v)
determines to grant a request in whole or in part within 20 business days of
the acknowledgment of the receipt of a request, but fails to do so, unless the
agency provides the reason for its inability to do so in writing and a date
certain within which the request will be granted in whole or in part;
(vi) does not grant a request in whole or in
part within 20 business days of the acknowledgment of the receipt of a request
and fails to provide the reason in writing explaining the inability to do so
and a date certain by which the request will be granted in whole or in part;
or
(vii) responds to a request,
stating that more than 20 business days is needed to grant or deny the request
in whole or in part and provides a date certain within which that will be
accomplished, but such date is unreasonable under the circumstances of the
request.
(f)
Subject matter list.
(1) The records access
officer shall maintain a reasonably detailed current list by subject matter of
all records in its possession, whether or not records are available pursuant to
subdivision 2 of section
87 of the Public Officers Law.
(2) The subject matter list shall be
sufficiently detailed to permit identification of the category of the record
sought.
(3) The subject matter list
shall be updated annually. The most recent update shall appear on the first
page of the subject matter list.
(g) Denial of access to records.
(1) Denial of access to records shall be in
writing stating the reason therefor and advising the requester of the right to
appeal to the individual or body established to determine appeals (who or
which) shall be identified by name, title, business address and business phone
number.
(2) If requested records
are not provided promptly, as required in paragraph (5) of this subdivision,
such failure shall also be deemed a denial of access.
(3) The director or his or her designee shall
determine appeals regarding denial of access to records under the Freedom of
Information Law. Such appeal shall be directed to: Director, New York State
Office of Victim Services, Alfred E. Smith State Office Building, 80 South Swan
Street, 2nd Floor, Albany, NY 12210-8002.
(4) Any person denied access to records may
appeal within 30 days of a denial.
(5) The time for deciding an appeal by the
director or his or her designee to determine appeals shall commence upon
receipt of a written appeal identifying:
(i)
the date and location of requests for records;
(ii) a description, to the extent possible,
of the records that were denied; and
(iii) the name and return address of the
person denied access.
(6) A failure to determine an appeal within
10 business days of its receipt by granting access to the records sought or
fully explaining the reasons for further denial in writing shall constitute a
denial of the appeal.
(7) The
director or his or her designee shall transmit to the Committee on Open
Government copies of all appeals upon receipt of appeals. Such copies shall be
addressed to: Committee on Open Government, Department of State, One Commerce
Plaza, 99 Washington Avenue, Suite 650, Albany, NY 12231.
(8) The director or his or her designee shall
inform the appellant and the Committee on Open Government of its determination
in writing within 10 business days of receipt of an appeal. The determination
shall be transmitted to the Committee on Open Government in the same manner as
set forth in paragraph (7) of this subdivision.
(h) Fees.
(1) There shall be no fee charged for:
(i) inspection of records;
(ii) search for records; or
(iii) any certification pursuant to this
Part.
(2) Copies may be
provided without charging a fee.
(3) Fees for copies may be charged, provided
that:
(i) the fee for copying records shall
not exceed 25 cents per page for photocopies not exceeding 9 by 14
inches;
(ii) the fee for
photocopies of records in excess of 9 x 14 inches shall not exceed the actual
cost of reproduction; or
(iii) the
office has the authority to redact portions of a paper record and does so prior
to disclosure of the record by making a photocopy from which the proper
redactions are made.
(4)
The fee which the office may charge for a copy of any other record is based on
the actual cost of reproduction and may include only the following:
(i) an amount equal to the hourly salary
attributed to the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to
prepare a copy of the requested record, but only when more than two hours of
the employee's time is necessary to do so; and
(ii) the actual cost of the storage devices
or media provided to the person making the request in complying with such
request; or
(iii) the actual cost
to the office of engaging an outside professional service to prepare a copy of
a record, but only when the office's information technology equipment is
inadequate to prepare a copy, and if such service is used to prepare the
copy.
(5) When the
office has the ability to retrieve or extract a record or data maintained in a
computer storage system with reasonable effort, or when doing so requires less
employee time than engaging in manual retrieval or redactions from
non-electronic records, the office shall be required to retrieve or extract
such record or data electronically. In such case, the office may charge a fee
in accordance with subparagraphs (4)(i) and (ii) of this subdivision.
(6) The office shall inform a person
requesting a record of the estimated cost of preparing a copy of the record if
more than two hours of an agency employee's time is needed, or if it is
necessary to retain an outside professional service to prepare a copy of the
record.
(7) The office may require
that the fee for copying or reproducing a record be paid in advance of the
preparation of such copy.
(8) The
office may waive a fee in whole or in part when making copies of records
available.
(i) Public
notice. A notice containing the title or name and business address of the
records access officers and appeals person and the location where records can
be seen or copies shall be posted in a conspicuous location wherever records
are kept and/or published in a local newspaper of general circulation.