The Gov’s Ethics Test
If Gov. Cuomo is truly serious about improving Albany’s ethical climate, he’ll sign a vital bill that makes it easier for the public to get official documents. The legislation, due to land on the gov’s desk in coming weeks, requires judges to make a government agency pay the legal fees of anyone whose request under the state Freedom of Information Law the agency had unjustifiably denied.
Current law allows courts to award plaintiffs such fees, but leaves the decision to the judge. This means that when an agency stonewalls rather than shares information that clearly should be public, anyone suing to get the info must expect to eat legal costs that can run an easy five figures.
It’s an effective way to keep little guys from demanding their rights, and at least a good stalling tactic with not-so-small players: The agency pays no price for being utterly unreasonable — while citizens, journalists, nonprofits, academics, etc. must hire lawyers and wait.
Agencies can deny requests thinking they won’t be sued, since the costs are too high. So the public never gets to see documents it has every right to see.
New York’s corruption scandals and other official abuses of recent years show why such disclosures are essential. The public needs to know what kind of backroom deals and secret arrangements officials are making — at the public’s expense.
When Mayor de Blasio, for example, claimed his outside advisers were “agents of the city” and their e-mails were exempt from public disclosure, it took a FOIL lawsuit by The Post and NY1 to get them released. Those e-mails exposed telling conflicts of interests and shady ties.
Similarly, the Empire Center had to sue for access to exorbitant public pension payments (whose costs taxpayers underwrite). If the public can’t learn about abuses, public officials can keep getting away with them. Cuomo vetoed a similar bill two years ago, but this year’s legislation addresses key parts of his complaints. And it won unanimous support in the Senate and near-unanimous backing in the Assembly.
The gov has no excuse now for vetoing it again — and if he does, lawmakers should race to override him.