NY S01418

Requires courts to award reasonable attorney's fees and litigation costs to individuals who prevail in Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) cases, changing from discretionary ("may") to mandatory ("shall")

Expands the definition of "prevailing" to include obtaining records through voluntary production after litigation begins, settlement, or court judgment ordering production

Mandates fee awards when an agency failed to respond within statutory timeframes or when the court finds the agency had no reasonable basis for denying access

Defines "reasonable basis for denying access" as agency reliance on published appellate court opinions or Committee on Open Government opinions based on substantially similar facts

Requires mandatory attorney fee awards to successful petitioners in Open Meetings Law violation cases, removing judicial discretion and the previous exception for public bodies that reasonably believed a closed session was proper