New York Public Personnel Law: Project Sunlight to give public access to database of who appears before state departments and agencies

July 27, 2013

Project Sunlight to give public access to database of who appears before state departments and agencies

Project Sunlight to give public access to database of who appears before state departments and agencies

Source: Office of the Governor

On July 26, 2013 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the launching of the Project Sunlight database on the Internet at projectsunlight.ny.gov, a searchable database providing an in-depth view of the individuals and entities appearing before New York State government entities concerning non-legislative matters

Project Sunlight lists meetings between government officials and outside individuals, entities, and their internal or external representatives related to state procurement, rate-making, regulatory matters, agency-based judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings, and the adoption or repeal of rules and regulations.

Lobbying appearances related to passage of the budget or legislation are not covered by Project Sunlight, as they are already the subject of regulation by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics pursuant to the State’s lobbying laws. .

A Project Sunlight Policy was developed to facilitate reporting and to clarify what is and is not reported in the database:

Meetings Included in Project Sunlight:	Meetings NOT Included in Project Sunlight:
Appearances related to state procurement	Appearances for the sole purpose of requesting information
Appearances related to rate-making	Written or telephone communications
Appearances related to regulatory matters	Appearances regarding legislation or the budget, or any intergovernmental interactions
Appearances related to agency-based judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings	Appearances that are treated as confidential pursuant to federal or state law, or which, if disclosed, could endanger the life or safety of any person.
Appearances related to adoption or repeal of rules and regulations	Participation in meetings that are open to the public (and thus already reported elsewhere)

In 2007, then Attorney General Cuomo launched a Project Sunlight initiative now known as NYOpenGovernment.com to create the state’s first-ever online database of information related to campaign finance, lobbying activity, state spending, and state contracts.

CAUTION

Subsequent court and administrative rulings, or changes to laws, rules and regulations may have modified or clarified or vacated or reversed the information and, or, decisions summarized in NYPPL. For example, New York State Department of Civil Service's Advisory Memorandum 24-08 reflects changes required as the result of certain amendments to §72 of the New York State Civil Service Law to take effect January 1, 2025 [See Chapter 306 of the Laws of 2024]. Advisory Memorandum 24-08 in PDF format is posted on the Internet at https://www.cs.ny.gov/ssd/pdf/AM24-08Combined.pdf. Accordingly, the information and case summaries should be Shepardized® or otherwise checked to make certain that the most recent information is being considered by the reader.

NYPPL Blogger Harvey Randall served as Principal Attorney, New York State Department of Civil Service; Director of Personnel, SUNY Central Administration; Director of Research, Governor’s Office of Employee Relations; and Staff Judge Advocate General, New York Guard. Consistent with the Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations, the material posted to this blog is presented with the understanding that neither the publisher nor NYPPL and, or, its staff and contributors are providing legal advice to the reader and in the event legal or other expert assistance is needed, the reader is urged to seek such advice from a knowledgeable professional.