Cuomo Wants To End Legislature’s Open Records Exemption

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers are largely exempt from the state's open records law — a shortcoming Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to address.

To mark national Sunshine Week, the Associated Press filed freedom of information requests with four top lawmakers seeking their schedules and email correspondence from the first week of February.

Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate and Assembly declined to provide the information, citing their rules that don't require it.

Cuomo wants the law to cover the Legislature. But transparency advocates say Cuomo's office needs reform the most.

The administration has been criticized for slow and limited disclosures under the law that already applies to executive agencies.