FOIL Portal Requirements: Request for COOG Guidance Submitted

On January 29, 2026, Transparent Law Enforcement submitted a formal request for guidance to the New York Committee on Open Government regarding whether certain online FOIL submission portal requirements used by municipalities in Monroe County are consistent with New York’s Freedom of Information Law.

The request grew out of Transparent Law Enforcement’s Monroe County FOIL Submission Audit, an ongoing review of how municipalities accept and process public records requests. As part of that audit, representative FOIL intake practices used by the Town of Henrietta, City of Rochester, Town of Brighton, and Town of Penfield were documented and compared.

Based on those findings, the submission to COOG requests guidance on whether requiring personal identifying information, purpose declarations, commercial classifications, or intended-use certifications as conditions of submission is consistent with FOIL.

The full submission to COOG is available below. This page will be updated if and when COOG provides a written response.

Download: Request for Guidance Regarding FOIL Submission Portal Requirements (PDF)
View: Monroe County FOIL Submission Audit
Status: Submitted to COOG on January 29, 2026. Awaiting response.