Bill Text: NY S00457 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to witness testimony before legislative committees via videoconferencing.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S00457 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S00457-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 457 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 4, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern- ment Operations AN ACT to amend the legislative law and the public officers law, in relation to witness testimony before legislative committees via video- conferencing The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 60 of the legislative law, as amended by chapter 2 416 of the laws of 1954, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 60. Testimony before legislative committees. 1. A legislative 4 committee may require the attendance of witnesses in this state whom the 5 committee may wish to examine, or may issue a commission for the exam- 6 ination of witnesses who are out of the state or unable to attend the 7 committee or excused from attendance, which commission if directed by 8 the house or legislature by which the committee is appointed may be 9 executed during the recess of the legislature. A commission issued as 10 provided by this section shall be in the form used in the courts of 11 record of this state and shall be executed in like manner. Unless other- 12 wise instructed by the committee appointing them the commissioners shall 13 examine privately every witness attending before them and shall not make 14 public the particulars of such examination. No committee of either house 15 or a joint committee of both houses shall have the power to take testi- 16 mony at a private hearing or at a public hearing unless at least two of 17 its members are present at such hearing. 18 2. Upon a request for reasonable accommodation by a witness, a legis- 19 lative committee may grant such witness permission to testify before 20 such legislative committee via videoconferencing. Such request for 21 reasonable accommodation shall not be approved unless such witness has 22 demonstrated, to the satisfaction of such legislative committee, an EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00634-01-3S. 457 2 1 inability to testify in-person due to disability, cost of travel, severe 2 weather conditions, or another reason deemed justifiable by such legis- 3 lative committee. 4 § 2. Subdivisions (d), (e) and (f) of section 103 of the public offi- 5 cers law, subdivision (d) as added by chapter 43 of the laws of 2010, 6 subdivision (e) as amended by chapter 481 of the laws of 2021 and subdi- 7 vision (f) as amended by chapter 319 of the laws of 2016, are amended 8 and a new subdivision (h) is added to read as follows: 9 [(d)] (e) 1. Any meeting of a public body that is open to the public 10 shall be open to being photographed, broadcast, webcast, or otherwise 11 recorded and/or transmitted by audio or video means. As used herein the 12 term "broadcast" shall also include the transmission of signals by 13 cable. 14 2. A public body may adopt rules, consistent with recommendations from 15 the committee on open government, reasonably governing the location of 16 equipment and personnel used to photograph, broadcast, webcast, or 17 otherwise record a meeting so as to conduct its proceedings in an order- 18 ly manner. Such rules shall be conspicuously posted during meetings and 19 written copies shall be provided upon request to those in attendance. 20 [(e)] (f) Agency records available to the public pursuant to article 21 six of this chapter, as well as any proposed resolution, law, rule, 22 regulation, policy or any amendment thereto, that is scheduled to be the 23 subject of discussion by a public body during an open meeting shall be 24 made available, upon request therefor, to the extent practicable at 25 least twenty-four hours prior to the meeting during which the records 26 will be discussed. Copies of such records may be made available for a 27 reasonable fee, determined in the same manner as provided therefor in 28 article six of this chapter. If the agency in which a public body func- 29 tions maintains a regularly and routinely updated website and utilizes a 30 high speed internet connection, such records shall be posted on the 31 website to the extent practicable at least twenty-four hours prior to 32 the meeting. An agency may, but shall not be required to, expend addi- 33 tional moneys to implement the provisions of this subdivision. 34 [(f)] (g) Open meetings of an agency or authority shall be, to the 35 extent practicable and within available funds, broadcast to the public 36 and maintained as records of the agency or authority. If the agency or 37 authority maintains a website and utilizes a high speed internet 38 connection, such open meeting shall be, to the extent practicable and 39 within available funds, streamed on such website in real-time, and post- 40 ed on such website within and for a reasonable time after the meeting. 41 For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "agency" shall mean only 42 a state department, board, bureau, division, council or office and any 43 public corporation the majority of whose members are appointed by the 44 governor. For purposes of this subdivision, the term "authority" shall 45 mean a public authority or public benefit corporation created by or 46 existing under any state law, at least one of whose members is appointed 47 by the governor (including any subsidiaries of such public authority or 48 public benefit corporation), other than an interstate or international 49 authority or public benefit corporation. 50 (h) In a meeting held by a committee of either house of the state 51 legislature or by a joint committee of both houses of the state legisla- 52 ture, witness testimony may be taken via videoconference, in accordance 53 with section sixty of the legislative law. 54 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
