Access to Data Used in Promulgating Regulations

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

This Act amends the State Administrative Procedure Act to ensure that citizens have the right to the underlying data used by state regulatory agencies when the agencies seek to change rules, regulations or guidelines. The Act requires the agencies to make this information available for inspection within thirty days of a request. It requires each agency to appoint a data access officer and specify the procedures for releasing such information.

Submitted as: New York Chapter 229 of 2000 Status: enacted into law in 2000.

Suggested Legislation

(Title, enacting clause, etc.)

Section 1. [Short Title.] This Act may be cited as “An Act to Ensure Access to Data Used in Promulgating Regulations.”

Section 2. [Definitions.] As used in this Act, “Data” means written information or material, including, but not limited to, statistics or measurements used as the basis for reasoning, calculations or conclusions in a study.

Section 3. [Access to Studies and Data.] (1) An agency, upon request, shall, within [thirty (30)] days, make available for inspection and copying any scientific or statistical study, report or analysis, including any such study, report or analysis prepared by a person or entity pursuant to a contract with the agency or funded in whole or in part through a grant from the agency that is used as the basis of a proposed rule and any supporting data; provided, however, that the agency shall provide for inspection only of any such study, report or analysis due to copyright restrictions. (2) An agency that contracts with a person or entity for the performance of a study or awards a grant for such purpose shall require as a condition or term of such contract or grant that the person or entity shall provide to the agency the study, any data supporting the study, and identity of the principal person or people who performed such study for disclosure in accordance with the provisions of this Act and [insert citation]. (4) An agency shall give the name, public office address and telephone number of an agency representative, who is knowledgeable about the proposed rule, from whom the complete text of such rule and any scientific or statistical study, report and analysis that served as the basis for the rule and any supporting data, the regulatory impact statement, the regulatory flexibility analysis, and the rural area flexibility analysis may be obtained; from whom information about any public hearing may be obtained; and to whom written data, views and arguments may be submitted.

Section 4. [Statement of Needs and Benefits.] An agency shall prepare a statement setting forth the purpose of, necessity for, and benefits derived from the rule, a citation for and summary, not to exceed [five hundred (500)] words, of each scientific or statistical study, report or analysis that served as the basis for the rule, an explanation of how it was used to determine the necessity for and benefits derived from the rule, and the name of the person that produced each study, report or analysis;

Section 5. [Severability.] [Insert severability clause.]

34 35 36 Section 6. [Repealer.] [Insert repealer clause.]

Section 7. [Effective Date.] [Insert effective date.]