Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed increasing access to government information by applying the state's open-records law to the state Legislature and its open-meetings law to New York's ethics commissions.
His budget proposal calls for reforming the law "to improve transparency," apply the records law equally to the Legislature, which is currently exempt, and applying both laws to Legislative Ethics Commission and Joint Commission on Public Ethics.
They are also exempt.
The Cuomo administration has been criticized for delaying answers to record requests from journalists and issue advocates.
Cuomo also proposes authorizing the joint ethics commission to pursue further documents from public officials related to their annual financial disclosures, while establishing new enforcement authority over those who fail to report, plus prosecutors' oversight over those who willfully submit deceptive reports.
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