Relates to accessing records under the freedom of information law

• Democratic7

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Pete Harckham says this is needed

There are two provisions of FOIL that state an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy includes the disclosure of a list of names and addresses if a list may be used for solicitation or fundraising purposes. The ability to deny access pertains to a list of natural persons and their residential addresses, since the language includes personal privacy. The exception should not apply to a list of vendors or others engaged in a business or professional activities. Additionally, FOIL does not require an agency to create new records to respond to a request. The principle is that FOIL pertains to existing records and does not require that an agency create new records to respond to a request. Additionally, there is a need to clarify the existing provisions relating to the time in which an agency is required to respond to a FOIL request. This bill addresses these technical considerations. The changes to FOIL proposed by this bill were recommended by the Committee on Open Govern- ment.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.