The governor and the state Legislature delivered a major blow to one of New York’s key transparency laws this week, bowing to political pressure at the expense of victims, advocates, journalists and the public at large.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law sponsored by Democrats Sen. James Skoufis and Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon on Wednesday that will require state agencies to notify public employees if their disciplinary records are requested through a Freedom of Information Law request. The measure was specifically drafted on behalf of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, a union that represents law enforcement across the state, NYSCOPBA boasted in a news release Thursday. It was introduced in response to the state’s repeal of the 50-a subsection of the Civil Rights Law in 2020, which, when in place, allowed officers’ disciplinary records to be withheld from the public.

“Our members and other law enforcement throughout this state perform one of the most important roles in safeguarding our communities and they deserve the protection from unnecessary and unwarranted invasions of their privacy,” NYSCOPBA President Chris Summers said in a statement. “This legislation is a step in the right direction to safeguard their ability to perform their duties efficiently.”

Yes, those in law enforcement play an important role in our society — but police and correctional officers wield immense power and should not be immune from scrutiny, nor shielded from being held accountable by the public or by journalists.

Alerting a public employee that their conduct may come under scrutiny can endanger those who seek to uncover the truth and shed light on corruption — especially in areas as rural and small as this one. It could deter people from filing Freedom of Information Law requests. It could prompt those under investigation to do what they can to make that investigation much harder to accomplish, a win for those who would prefer that wrongdoings be kept under wraps.

In a joint memo released before Hochul signed this bill into law, 10 advocacy groups — including the NYCLU, New York News Publishers Association, League of Women Voters, Legal Aid Society, Freedom of the Press Foundation and Reinvent Albany — said they believe this law will “reduce transparency.”

“We are … concerned that this bill could have a chilling effect on transparency, as requesters may be hesitant to FOIL disciplinary records if personnel, especially armed police, are directly notified of the request,” the memo reads. “Currently, agencies are required to disclose FOIL logs, which include the name of individuals requesting records in addition to the type of record requested. We believe this level of transparency for requests is sufficient.”

The groups argued that this law will also effectively be an unfunded mandate that will further tax state and local agencies’ already “underfunded skeleton crews.”

“This bill’s requirement that agencies locate a public employee’s contact information, reach out to the employee, and notify them of the record disclosure will create more work for agency FOIL staff and result in greater delays to a FOIL process already at the breaking point,” the memo reads.

The Legislature — including North Country Sen. Dan Stec, Assemblymen Billy Jones and Matt Simpson, who all voted in favor of this measure — did a great disservice to the public by passing this bill.

The governor then failed to right this wrong by signing this bill into law, effectively going back on a promise she made in her very first address as governor, when she pledged that her administration would usher in a new era of government transparency.

We’re still waiting for that new era to arrive.