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Bob Freeman is an institution in Albany.

The long-time Executive Director of the NYS Committee on Open Government  knows more about the 3 statutes that govern “the public’s right-to-know” than any other human being on the planet. He and his office have issued something like 20,000 legal opinions on the topic over the last few years.

Bob will be joining me onThe Capitol Pressroom on Monday to talk about transparency in contract negotiations as well as what exactly he does. For your background, I’ve included here the three statutes he has expertise in, as well as some of the legal questions that he has faced over the last 30 years:

Open Meetings Law– The OML concerns the public’s right to attend meetings of public bodies

Questions: Can we opt NOT and still have a right to the minutes? And in this age of email, video conferencing and speakerphones, what exactly IS a meeting? What if the town board is on a conference call to talk about their annual BBQ, but a meeting just sort of happens? Is it illegal since they did not send out a public notice of the meeting?

Freedom of Information Law– The FOIL pertains to the public’s right to government records

Questions: What is a record? Can it be email? Does it apply to school districts? Under what circumstances does the Government NOT have to disclose?

Personal Privacy Protection Law — The PPPL concerns an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

Questions: So the Government DOES have the ability the withhold something that the average citizen would consider to be too intimate, or invasive. Does that include the salary of, say, the head of the Dormitory Authority? How about his social security number? Where is the line? What about Joe Bruno’s secretary? If you’re a government employee, do you have less privacy?

And finally, what does a “presumption of access” mean for you and me? Lise Bang-Jensen of the Empire Center will also join us.

Plus, Gannett’s Albany Bureau Chief (aka Jay Gallagher) will share analysis of how budget negotiations are going. I’m betting he’ll go a little deeper than just saying, “really really badly“.

The idea behind The Capitol Pressroom radio show is to make NYS government & politics understandable and relevant to the citizens they impact. 

To that end, I try to translate wordy & complicated governmental jargon into more easily digestible human-like sentence structure.  One of my favorite examples of wordiness is the name of this group:

The New York State Commission on Local Government Efficiency & Competitiveness

Although hard to grasp, and geographically non-specific, this particular Commission is one that many people in Albany would like to see succeed.  It is tasked with seeking recommendations for shrinkage from hamlets, villages, towns, cities and counties around the state.  And by shrinkage, I mean “creating more efficient systems” through which the government’s work can get done (ie;  Stop duplicating work &  Stop creating patronage positions). 

Today on The Capitol Pressroom we speak with a long-time public servant about his experiences traveling around the state speaking with other local officials about creating these efficiencies.  Lake George Mayor Bob Blaise will share stories of courage and of parochialism, and let us know what NY’s next steps have to be to lose some of the excess bureaucratic weight its carrying around.

Also, former Senate staffer and Department of Transportation whiz kid Michael Fondocaro decided a while ago that Spanish speakers in the State – one of the fastest-growing demographics - needed a tool to build community.  On his own he created Noticias y Notas – an email newsmagazine sent to over 1100 subscribers tailored to speakers of Spanish & Portuguese who are interested in civic engagement.  If there is an issue of special interest to the Latino population in Buffalo, Mike will be sure it’s in Noticias.  He joins to me today to talk about the growing power of the Latino population in New York, and why it’s significant. 

Plus Rick Karlin of the Times Union and Glenn Blain of the New York Daily News will have political analysis and the day’s top political headlines.

Tune in to the Capitol Pressroom today www.thecapitolpressroom.org or on WBFO, WSKG, WRVO, WCNY or WROW!

Podcasting is available!

It’s Friday!  I’m exclaiming!

Today on The Capitol Pressroom we will be speaking to: NYS Speaker Sheldon Silver, Jimmy Vielkind of the Observer, Ken Lovett of the New York Daily News, John Sheehan of the Adirondack Council, and Steve Greenberg of the Siena Poll.