Foil Requests

Overview

The Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”), Article 6 (Sections 84) of the NYS Public Officers Law, provides the public right to access records maintained by government agencies with certain exceptions.

“Record” means any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with, or for this agency, in any physical form whatsoever including, but not limited to, reports, statements, examinations, memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books, manuals, pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters, microfilms, computer tapes or disks, rules, regulations or codes.

Request Records

SUBMIT A FOIL REQUEST

You may also mail a written request to:

Jean A. McDonnell
Records Access Officer
NYS Division of Tax Appeals
Agency Building 1
Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12223

Email:  FOILRequests@dta.ny.gov

Fax: (518) 271-0886

To submit a request for records in person:

You can submit a written request for records in person, by appointment, on business days between 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, at the Records Access Office, Agency Building 1, Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York. You may schedule an appointment to bring in the written request for records by calling (518) 266-3000. Please be advised that records require review prior to disclosure. As a result, documents and records will not be immediately available.

Please do not include confidential information (eg., social security numbers) in any email requests.  We will contact you if we need further information.

If you have any further questions, contact us at 518-266-3000 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.  No FOIL requests will be accepted over the phone.

FOIL Process

Within five business days of the receipt of a written request for a record reasonably described, we will send you a letter either: making such record available; denying such request in writing; or furnishing a written acknowledgment of the receipt of such request. If you have not received a letter within five business days, please contact us at (518) 266-3000 or FOILRequests@dta.ny.gov.

An acknowledgment letter will provide you with an estimate of when the records you request will be available, which shall be reasonable under the circumstances of the request. This date is determined by the number of documents you request, their format, their availability, the time it takes to redact any information that cannot be disclosed pursuant to FOIL, the time it takes to assemble the documents, and other factors.

If the records you request require a fee to be paid, you will be notified prior to the records being released to you. Unless a different fee is otherwise prescribed by statute, Public Officers Law §87(1) authorizes an agency to charge a fee of 25¢ per copy for copies of records up 9"x 14", or the actual cost of reproducing a record. In determining the actual cost of producing a record, an agency may include only:

• an amount equal to the hourly salary attributed to the lowest paid agency employee who has the necessary skill required to prepare the requested record(s), if at least two hours of agency employee time is needed to prepare a copy of the record(s) requested;
• the actual cost of the storage devices or media provided to the person making the request in complying with such request; and
• the actual cost to the agency of engaging an outside professional service to prepare a copy of a record, but only when an agency’s information technology equipment is inadequate to prepare a copy, if such service is used to prepare the copy.

Once the requested records are prepared, you may receive the records via email, fax, paper, CD/DVD, or USB.

Right to Appeal

Under provisions of the Public Officers Law you may appeal a FOIL determination.  If you desire to submit such an appeal, you must do so within 30 days of the written response to your FOIL request. Please include a copy of the original request for records and a copy of the FOIL response letter you received along with your appeal letter to:

Timothy J. Alston
Records Appeals Officer
NYS Division of Tax Appeals
Agency Building 1
Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12223

You will be informed in writing of the decision within ten business days of our receipt of such an appeal.

Subject Matter List

Please note, there may be exceptions to availability pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law and confidentiality provisions of the Tax Law.

• General Administrative Records, including Personnel Records, Payroll Records and Finance Records
• Affirmative Action Plan
• Annual Reports
• Archive Retention Schedules
• Case Files for Pending (Confidential Taxpayer) Matters
• Case Tracking System for Pending and Closed (Confidential Taxpayer) Matters
• Decisions and Determinations of State Tax Commission, Presiding Officers, Administrative Law Judges, and Tax Appeals Tribunal
• Departmental Directives, Policies, Notifications
• Employee Union Procedures, Forms, and Roster Information
• FOIL Requests, Responses and Appeals
• General Correspondence
• Internal Control Policy
• Internal Work Assignment Records, Tracking Records, and Inventories
• Information Technology Services Plans and Records
• Legislative and Regulatory Documents
• Mailing Documents for all Administrative Law Judge and Small Claims Determinations and Tribunal Decisions
• Monthly Dockets of Adjudicatory Activity
• Organizational Charts/Floor Plans
• Personal Privacy Protection Law Requests, Responses and Appeals
• Rules and Regulations
• Training and Instructional Manuals/Materials
• Transcripts of Administrative Hearings and Oral Arguments and Recordings of Small Claims Proceedings

Helpful Tips

For more information about FOIL, please visit the New York State Committee on Open Government’s website.

When submitting a FOIL request:

• Be as specific as possible in describing the requested records. Include relevant dates, names, descriptions, etc. See suggested language for a FOIL request from the Committee on Open Government.
• Specify whether you would like to inspect the records or have copies of the records sent to you.
• If records are available, specify how you want them sent, i.e., via US mail, e-mail or fax. We may choose to send the records by U.S. mail, if you have requested a large volume of records, for security or other important reasons. We will notify you of any charge for reproducing such records before they are sent to you.
• Include your e-mail, mailing address and fax number, as well as a telephone number where you can be reached during business hours, if it is necessary to clarify your request.
• Please note that the agency is not required to create a new record in response to FOIL requests.