Lawyers upset after Hochul scales back Freedom of Information Law enforcement bill, compares to 50-a repeal - New York Daily News

ALBANY — Attorneys are accusing Gov. Hochul and state lawmakers of watering down a law that would have made it harder for law enforcement agencies to deny public record requests.

The governor’s office, after reaching a deal with the Legislature in late December, stripped language from a bill that would have granted judges the power to decide if disclosing records would interfere with judicial proceedings or an ongoing investigation.

Lawyers said the changes will embolden police who already often cite “ongoing investigations” when denying access to body-cam and dash-cam video and other evidence related to police interactions with New Yorkers.

“It really takes us two steps backwards,” said Sag Harbor attorney James Henry, who compared the revamped measure to 50-a, a since repealed state statute that stymied the release of police misconduct records.

In 2020, the state Legislature repealed the ban on disclosure of the disciplinary records under state Civil Rights Law 50-a, which the NYPD had been citing since 2016 in refusing to provide information on misconduct by police officers.

Journalists and good government groups have since argued that police departments fight to keep public records under wraps by claiming that the release of requested documents would impede active investigations.

Last year, lawmakers approved a bill, sponsored by Sen. James Skoufis (D-Newburgh) and Assemblyman Steven Engelbright (D-Suffolk), that was intended to “make sure that people are not wrongfully denied access to public records,” according to a memo.

“It was really done in a surreptitious way by people who clearly knew that they were undermining and reversing the really great steps forward that they made last year,” he said.

Hochul in her approval message said that granting judges oversight was unnecessary and would cause delay “not only in the judicial proceeding but also in processing the (Freedom of Information Law) request.”

Instead of having a judge review a records denial by a police department, the amended law requires the agency certify that the FOIL-requested records would impede an ongoing investigation.

A spokeswoman for the governor defended the changes, arguing that Hochul is “committed to restoring faith in government, improving transparency, and increasing accountability.”

“Protecting the public’s access to public records is critically important, and the Governor and legislature negotiated an amendment to ensure there are no unnecessary delays or confusion in the production of records,” spokeswoman Hazel Crampton-Hays said in a statement. “This amendment does not in any way weaken the repeal of 50-a and will make the denial of records more difficult, not less so.”

Since taking over for Cuomo last summer, Hochul has sought to distance herself from the previous administration and has repeatedly said transparency and the expansion of FOIL would be hallmarks of her tenure.

source: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-hochul-foil-nypd-police-records-20220310-eudz5qfgknecnjauh7mags4sbe-story.html

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