FOIL rules and regulations (New York State Bridge Authority)

December 18, 2014
Dear Mr. Lesser,

The following is part of official Rules and Regulations of the New York State Bridge Authority, filed as part of the NYS Register:

New York State Bridge Authority

GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS
(Title 21, N.Y.C.R.R. Parts 200-208)

PART 206 PUBLIC ACCESS TO RECORDS OF THE NEW YORK STATE BRIDGE AUTHORITY PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW

206.1 Definitions.

Unless expressly otherwise provided, whenever used in this Part, the following terms shall mean or include:

(a) Authority. The New York State Bridge Authority.

(b) Secretary. The secretary or assistant secretary of the authority, or their delegate, or such other officer or employee as shall be designated by the authority to perform one or more of the duties herein assigned to the secretary and assistant secretary.

(c) Chairman. The chairman of the authority, or his delegate, or such other officer or employee as shall be designated by the authority to perform one or more of the duties herein assigned to the chairman. 59

(d) Rules. The rules set forth in this Part.

(e) Records. That information, in whatever physical form whatsoever kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with or for the authority, which is required to be made available by the authority for public inspection and/or copying under the terms and conditions of the Freedom of Information Law, (article 6, Public Officers Law, State of New York).

206.2 Purpose.

This Part, governing public access to certain records of the authority, is promulgated solely for the purpose of implementing the provisions of the Freedom of Information Law. Nothing in this Part shall be deemed to require the authority to reduce any information to physical form or prepare any record not possessed or maintained by it, except the records specified in subdivision 3 of section 87 and subdivision 3 of section 88 of the Public Officers Law.

206.3 Applications for the inspection and copying of records.

An application to inspect or to copy information constituting records under this Part shall be made to the secretary. Such application shall be made in writing on a form provided by the authority and shall reasonably describe the record sought. Such description shall, when possible, include information regarding dates, file designations and such other information that may assist in describing the record sought. Within five business days following receipt of such application, if the secretary determines that the information requested constitutes a record as defined in this Part, such requested records, if found, shall be made available for inspection by the applicant; or the applicant shall be furnished with a written acknowledgment of receipt of the application, including the approximate date when the requested records will be made available for inspection. Such records shall be made available for inspection during regular office hours on regular working days at the location or locations within the authority's facilities designated by the secretary. If the requested records cannot be found after diligent search, the secretary shall so certify. If the application is denied, the secretary shall so advise the applicant in writing within five business days following receipt of such application, stating the reason therefore and indicating the procedure available for appealing such denial as provided in this Part. The secretary shall provide, if requested, copies of records to the applicant therefore, together with his certification as to the correctness of such copies, upon receipt of payment of the fees prescribed in this Part.

206.4 Prevention of unwarranted invasions of personal privacy.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Part, the authority may, prior to making records available for inspection or copying, delete such identifying details as the authority may deem appropriate to prevent an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Without limiting the generality of the preceding sentence, an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy will be deemed to occur by the disclosure of the information, should it constitute a record under this Part enumerated below in this section, unless the person to whom the record pertains consents in writing to disclosure of such information or unless such information pertains to the person requesting same and such person presents reasonable proof of identity:

(a) such personal matters as may have been reported in confidence to the authority and which are not relevant to the ordinary work of the authority;

(b) employment, medical or credit histories or personal references of applicants for employment; 60

(c) items involving the medical or personal records of a client or patient in a medical facility;

(d) items of a personal nature, when disclosure would result in economic or personal hardship to the subject party, and such records are not relevant to the work of the agency requesting or maintaining it; and

(e) lists of names and addresses, if such lists would be used for commercial or fund-raising purposes.

206.5 Records not available for public inspection or copying.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Part, the following items of information, should they otherwise be deemed records, shall not be available for public inspection or copying;

(a) information that is specifically exempted from disclosure by State or Federal statute;

(b) information which, if disclosed, would impair present or imminent contract awards or collective bargaining negotiations;

(c) trade secrets or other records maintained for the regulation of commercial enterprise which, if disclosed, would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of the subject enterprise;

(d) information which is part of investigatory files compiled for law enforcement purposes which, if disclosed, would interfere with law enforcement investigations or judicial proceedings; would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or impartial adjudication; would identify a confidential source or disclose confidential information relating to a criminal investigation; or would reveal criminal investigative techniques of procedures; except routine techniques and procedures;

(e) information which, if disclosed, would endanger the life or safety of any person;

(f) communications between or among the authority and other agencies (as the word agency is defined in the Freedom of Information Law) and intra-authority materials which are not:

(1) statistical or factual tabulations or data;

(2) instructions to staff that affect the public; or

(3) final authority policy or determinations; and

(g) examination questions or answers which are requested prior to the final administration of such questions.

206.6 Maintenance of certain records.

The authority shall maintain and make available for public inspection and copying, in accordance with this Part:

(a) a record of the final vote of each member of the authority in every authority proceeding in which the member votes; 61

(b) a record setting forth the name, public office address, title and salary of every officer and employee of the authority; and

(c) a reasonably detailed list, by subject matter, of all records in the possession of the authority, whether or not available under the Freedom of Information Law.

206.7 Appeals from denials of access to records.

Any party denied access to a record or records of the authority may appeal such denial to the chairman of the authority. Such appeal shall be made in writing and shall be accompanied by such party's written application for such records. The chairman shall determine such appeal and if he denies such access, his reasons therefor shall be explained fully in writing within seven business days following receipt of notice of such appeal.

206.8 Fee for copies.
The fee for copies of records is hereby fixed at 25 cents for each page or portion of a page measuring up to 9 inches by 14 inches.

The NYS Bridge Authority provides a web page for filing FOIL and informational requests at the following link:
http://nysba.net/Index%20Page/FOILinfo.html

The NYS Bridge Authority follows the rules and regulations established by the Committee on Open Government. Those rules and regulations can be found at the following link: http://www.dos.ny.gov/coog/foil2.html

I believe this information encompasses the entirety of your request. Please don’t hesitate to contact me directly if you require additional information.

John R. Bellucci
Chief of Staff/Records Access Officer

NYS Bridge Authority
POBox 1010, Highland, NY 12528
845-691-7245 jbellucci@nysba.ny.gov<mailto:jbellucci@nysba.ny.gov> NYSBA.net

Friend NYSBA on Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-State-Bridge-Authority/103077993111475>
Follow us on Twitter<https://twitter.com/NYSBridge>

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail is only intended for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and may contain confidential information. Unless stated to the contrary, any opinions or comments are personal to the writer and do not represent the official view of this entity. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this message from your system. Please do not copy it or use it for any purpose or disclose its contents to any other person. Thank you for your cooperation.