FOIA Request for Oath of Office and Public Surety Bonds for the New York State Senate Members (Office of the State Comptroller)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:

•Photocopies of public officials’ Oaths of Office for:
1. Andrea Stewart-Cousins
2. Michael Gianaris
3. Liz Krueger
4. Neil Breslin
5. Tim Kennedy
6. Jose Serrano
7. Brad Hoylman
8. Gustavo Rivera
9. Kevin Parker
10. Toby Ann Stavisky
11. Roxanne Persaud
12. Joseph Addabbo
13. Todd Kaminsky
14. Leroy Comrie
15. Shelley Mayer
16. Alessandra Biaggi
17. Robert G. Ortt
18. Andrew Lanza
19. Thomas O'Mara
20. Patricia Ritchie
21. Patrick M. Gallivan
22. Joseph Griffo
23. Susan Serino
24. Zellnor Myrie
25. Louis Sepulveda

• Photocopies of Public Officials Surety Bonds for public officials listed above that is required by the State of New York under Universal Citation: NY Pub Off L § 11.
• Photocopies of their Faithful Performance Bond and/or Fidelity Bond and/or Public Employee Blanket Bond and/or Statutory Bond and/or Errors & Omissions (E&O) and/or Surety Liability Insurance Policy and/or Risk Management Policy and/or the Duty of Care Policy and/or Certificate of Liability if applicable.

• Photocopies of the following documents if applicable:
o ACORD 125
o ACORD 126
o ACORD 127
o ACORD 128
o The documents should indicate the policy number and the insured amount of the policy.
• Public Officials and/or any other bonds pertaining to proof of liability and policies.
**Based on any and all loses of financial responsibility due to negligence or dishonesty. Any and all based on the contract of terms and conditions.

• Photocopies of the Power of Attorney for the Surety Bond company for public officials listed above, if applicable.
• Photocopies of the Blanket Bond Power of Attorney for the Surety Bond company for public officials listed above ,if applicable.

If you deny any or all of this request, please cite each specific exemption you feel justifies the refusal to release the information and notify me of the appeal procedures available as guaranteed under the law.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Marvin Garvey

Dear Ms. Hall, thank you for your response

I am requesting a certification from The Office of State Comptroller, that you are not in possession of documents requested.

According to Public Officers Law § 89 [3] that commands that a government entity that does not supply any record in response to a FOIL request “shall certify that it does not have possession of such record or that such record cannot be found after diligent search” (Public Officers Law § 89 [3] [a] … ). Although “[t]he statute does not specify the manner in which an agency must certify that documents cannot be located” … , respondent failed to provide any such certification … . Accordingly, “we remit the matter to Supreme Court for a determination of whether respondent has any other documents in [his] possession which are responsive to petitioner’s FOIL request” … , or, if no responsive records can be found after a diligent search, for respondent to provide a proper certification as required"... Matter of Thomas v Kane, 2022 NY Slip Op 02164, Third Dept 3-31-22

Marvin Garvey

Dear Ms. Hall,

Thank you for certifying -as per Public Officers Law § 89 [3] [a],
that The Office of the New York State Comptroller, does not maintain Public Surety Bonds for New York State Senate and Assembly Members.

I really appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Marvin Garvey