Here I thought Albany was starting to hold itself accountable. Well, this is a good thing. I remember being locked out of town board meetings as they seemed to be calling for executive session a lot, claiming that it was for “personal” issues when we all knew it was for other reasons.

New York State Assembly moves for a more open government

The state Assembly passed a series of bills this week related to creating a more open government.

Part of the legislation, passed in honor of the third-annual Sunshine Week, would strengthen the Open Meetings Law by providing a second way to invalidate an action when any portion of a meeting is closed in violation of the law

Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito, D-Rome, the main sponsor of the new bill, said the already-established way to invalidate such meetings is to take the officials to court, which is what happened last year in the case of the proposed Jordanville Wind project.

Residents in the towns of Warren and Stark brought a lawsuit against town leaders because they believed officials illegally met behind closed doors before approving environmental impact statements for the wind project. A state judge ruled in the residents’ favor.

“I think it’s important to really allow the people who government represents to know about the government,” Destito said.

The newest bill that was passed allows any meeting of a public body to be recorded, broadcast and photographed as long as it’s done in a way that is not disruptive to the meeting. Additionally, the new legislation includes:

* Require the Committee on Open Government to provide guidance to agencies on the development and maintenance of up-to-date information that can be requested via Freedom of Information Law requests.

* Prevent state agencies from claiming copyright protection for information that is required to be public by law.

* Necessitate that public bodies post notices of the time and place of their meetings if they have the capabilities to do so.

The first Sunshine Week was launched in March 2005 to initiate a dialogue on the importance of open government to the public.