N.Y. Public Officers Law § 96: Disclosure of records

§ 96. Disclosure of records. (1) No agency may disclose any record or

personal information unless such disclosure is:

(a) pursuant to a written request by or the voluntary written consent

of the data subject, provided that such request or consent by its terms

limits and specifically describes:

(i) the personal information which is requested to be disclosed;

(ii) the person or entity to whom such personal information is

requested to be disclosed; and

(iii) the uses which will be made of such personal information by the

person or entity receiving it; or

(b) to those officers and employees of, and to those who contract

with, the agency that maintains the record if such disclosure is

necessary to the performance of their official duties pursuant to a

purpose of the agency required to be accomplished by statute or

executive order or necessary to operate a program specifically

authorized by law; or

(c) subject to disclosure under article six of this chapter, unless

disclosure of such information would constitute an unwarranted invasion

of personal privacy as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of

section eighty-nine of this chapter; or

(d) to officers or employees of another governmental unit if each

category of information sought to be disclosed is necessary for the

receiving governmental unit to operate a program specifically authorized

by statute and if the use for which the information is requested is not

relevant to the purpose for which it was collected; or

(e) for a routine use, as defined in subdivision ten of section

ninety-two of this article; or

(f) specifically authorized by statute or federal rule or regulation;

or

(g) to the bureau of the census for purposes of planning or carrying

out a census or survey or related activity pursuant to the provisions of

Title XIII of the United States Code; or

(h) to a person who has provided the agency with advance written

assurance that the record will be used solely for the purpose of

statistical research or reporting, but only if it is to be transferred

in a form that does not reveal the identity of any data subject; or

(i) pursuant to a showing of compelling circumstances affecting the

health or safety of a data subject, if upon such disclosure notification

is transmitted to the data subject at his or her last known address; or

(j) to the state archives as a record which has sufficient historical

or other value to warrant its continued preservation by the state or for

evaluation by the state archivist or his or her designee to determine

whether the record has such value; or

(k) to any person pursuant to a court ordered subpoena or other

compulsory legal process; or

(l) for inclusion in a public safety agency record or to any

governmental unit or component thereof which performs as one of its

principal functions any activity pertaining to the enforcement of

criminal laws, provided that, such record is reasonably described and is

requested solely for a law enforcement function; or

(m) pursuant to a search warrant; or

(n) to officers or employees of another agency if the record sought to

be disclosed is necessary for the receiving agency to comply with the

mandate of an executive order, but only if such records are to be used

only for statistical research, evaluation or reporting and are not used

in making any determination about a data subject; or

(o) to officers or employees of a public retirement system of the city

of New York if the information sought to be disclosed is necessary for

the receiving public retirement system to process benefits under the

retirement and social security law, the administrative code of the city

of New York, or the education law or any other applicable provision of

law. A written request or consent from the data subject pursuant to

paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall not be required for the

disclosure of records pursuant to this paragraph; or

(p) to officers or employees of the United States department of

education for such department to process credit for qualifying

employment and loan forgiveness under the public service loan

forgiveness program. A written request or consent from the data subject

pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall not be required for

the disclosure of records pursuant to this paragraph.

(2) Nothing in this section shall require disclosure of:

(a) personal information which is otherwise prohibited by law from

being disclosed;

(b) patient records concerning mental disability or medical records

where such disclosure is not otherwise required by law;

(c) personal information pertaining to the incarceration of an

incarcerated individual at a state correctional facility which is

evaluative in nature or which, if disclosed, could endanger the life or

safety of any person, unless such disclosure is otherwise permitted by

law;

(d) attorney's work product or material prepared for litigation before

judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative tribunals, as described in

subdivisions (c) and (d) of section three thousand one hundred one of

the civil practice law and rules, except pursuant to statute, subpoena

issued in the course of a criminal action or proceeding, court ordered

or grand jury subpoena, search warrant or other court ordered

disclosure.