NY A00950

Changes attorney's fee awards from discretionary ("may") to mandatory ("shall") when a person prevails in Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) proceedings against a government agency

Defines "prevailing" in FOIL cases as obtaining records through voluntary production after litigation begins, settlement resulting in record production, or court judgment ordering production

Requires fee awards when either the agency failed to respond within statutory time limits or the court finds the agency had no reasonable basis for denying access

Establishes that an agency has "reasonable basis" for denial only if it reasonably relied on a published appellate court opinion or a Committee on Open Government opinion based on substantially similar facts

Makes attorney's fee awards mandatory for successful petitioners in Open Meetings Law proceedings, removing court discretion and eliminating the previous "reasonable basis" defense for public bodies