ALBANY - Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill Wednesday requiring judges to award attorney fees when the state or a local government incorrectly blocks access to a public document.
The new law, which took effect immediately, would apply when a citizen or entity has to sue to force a state or local agency to release documents under the state Freedom of Information Law, which guarantees access to public documents except in limited circumstances.
Cuomo vetoed a similar bill in 2015, citing technical concerns. But Cuomo signed this year's bill amid pressure from government-reform groups and news organizations throughout the state, including the New York News Publishers Association, of which the Democrat and Chronicle is a member.
"Thus while I continue to harbor concerns about diminishing the court's discretion in these cases, it is outweighed by the greater principle of increasing transparency," Cuomo wrote in his approval message.
The new law sets a two-tiered system for courts to award attorney fees to people who are blocked access to government documents.
If a person who is wrongfully denied access sues and "substantially prevails" in court, the state or the local government that blocked access would be required to pay the other side's costs for lawyers.
In court cases in which the government didn't respond to a FOIL request on time, a judge can -- but will not be required to -- award attorney fees.
The bill was sponsored by Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale, Westchester County, and Sen. Patrick Gallivan, R-Elma, Erie County. It also had support from the state Committee on Open Government, the state entity that advises agencies on transparency issues.
"This bill provides for an award of attorney's fees to prevailing parties in order to encourage compliance with FOIL and to minimize the burdens of cost and time from bringing a judicial proceeding," Paulin and Gallivan's bill memo reads.
John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany, a government-reform group, praised Cuomo and the bill's sponsors for approving the measure.
"This shows us that Albany can move forward and can make government more accountable to the public," Kaehny said in a statement.
