Governor Kathy Hochul announced new actions to increase transparency and access to public records.
Hochul has directed the New York State Office of Information Technology Services to issue a Request for Quotes to secure a software platform which will accelerate and streamline the State’s process for receiving, processing and responding to FOIL requests.
The announcement comes during Sunshine Week, an opportunity to spotlight efforts to increase openness and transparency in government.
Hochul said, “We’re taking meaningful action to streamline the process to access public records, so journalists and members of the public can more easily access information to which they are entitled. While there’s always more work to do, I’m proud of the steps my administration has taken to increase transparency and accountability in New York State government.”
In October 2021, Hochul announced improvements to the FOIL process, with the goal of providing more public records on a faster timeline and reducing the backlog of thousands of FOIL requests inherited by the Hochul Administration. Agencies are no longer required to send FOIL responses to the Executive Chamber for review, but instead will process FOIL requests directly through their agency’s General Counsel. Agencies are also required to take steps to identify and publicly post frequently requested documents and documents that have public significance, so interested parties can find relevant information without needing to file a FOIL request. The Executive Chamber is reviewing agency requests to fill FOIL staffing and software capacity needs, as well as provide FOIL trainings to all state agencies.
Based on preliminary data, more than 400 FOIL requests have been processed and completed by the Executive Chamber since Hochul took office. The Hochul Administration has processed and completed more FOIL requests over the past seven months than in all of 2019 (323 requests completed) and all of 2020 (368 requests completed).
The Office of Information Technology Services has taken the next step in the procurement process by issuing an RFQ for a software platform. The new software platform will use technology to streamline the receipt, processing and response to FOIL requests, thus allowing a more efficient and expeditious process. Now that the RFQ is issued, ITS expects a contract to be finalized in the coming weeks.
Leave a Reply