New York State Department of Law Archived Websites B2044

New York State Department of Law Archived Websites

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Overview of the Records

Repository:

New York State Archives
New York State Education Department
Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230

Summary:

This series consists of archival copies of the publicly accessible websites of the New York State Department of Law, which is commonly known as the Office of the Attorney General.

Title:

Department of Law archived websites

Quantity:

17 website(s)

Inclusive Dates:

2006, 2008, 2010-2011, 2015, 2018

Series Number:

B2044

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of archival copies of the publicly accessible websites of the New York State Department of Law, which is commonly known as the Office of the Attorney General. Researchers should note that repeated attempts to capture the main Department of Law site in 2019 and 2020 were unsuccessful.

B2044-07: This copy, produced on December 24, 2006, captures the Department of Law site as it existed a few days before Governor George E. Pataki (1995-2006) left office and Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer (1999-2006) became Governor. It contains press releases (1999-2006; access releases via the "Index" or "More News" links on the home page); formal and informal opinions issued by the Attorney General (1995-2006); annual reports (2000-2004); and brochures, leaflets, and other documents concerning charitable organizations, civil rights, consumer issues, environmental matters, health care, investments, telecommunications and energy utilities, and other subjects. This copy also contains information about the organizational structure of the Attorney General's Office as it existed in late 2006 and the role of the Department of Law in regulating charitable organizations and the sales of investment securities.

B2044-08: This accretion consists of a copy of the Department of Law site that was produced on May 29, 2008, shortly after the resignation of Governor Eliot L. Spitzer (2007-2008) and approximately fifteen months after Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (2007-2010) took office. It contains press releases (2008); opinions of the Attorney General (1999-2008); annual reports (2000-2001); and brochures, leaflets, and other documents concerning charitable organizations, civil rights, consumer issues, environmental matters, health care, investments, telecommunications and energy utilities, and other subjects. This copy also contains information about the organizational structure of the Attorney General's Office as it existed in mid-2008 and the role of the Department of Law in regulating charitable organizations and the sales of investment securities.

Researchers should note that some of the navigational links contained within this copy do not work properly; however, the "Site Index" link at the top of each page provides access to almost all of the information that this copy contains.

B2044-11: This accretion contains a copy of the Department of Law site produced on December 27, 2010, several days before Governor David A. Paterson (2008-2010) left office and Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo (2007-2010) became Governor. It features press releases (1998-2010); opinions issued by the Attorney General (1995-2010); amicus curiae filings (2001-2010); legislative program materials (2007-2008); and reports concerning local government reform (2008) and other topics. It also contains informational publications and resources for citizens on subjects including automobiles, charitable giving, consumer tips, civil rights, crime and safety, the environment, health, housing, immigration fraud, the Internet, investor protection, labor, senior citizen needs and concerns, student lending, and telecommunications. Basic information about the organizational structure of the Dept. of Law and photographs of and a brief biography of Attorney General Cuomo are also included. Researchers should note that attempting to use the "search" feature may cause the browser to redirect to the live version of the Dept. of Law Web site.

This accretion also contains copies of two press releases that were added to the main Department of Law site after it was copied on December 27, 2010: a December 30, 2010 release (copied December 30, 2010) detailing a public pension fund investigation settlement; and a December 31, 2010 release (copied December 31, 2010) outlining the department's settlement with four insurance groups.

Also present are copies of six other Web sites maintained by the Office of the Attorney General as of December 2010. The Stop Child Porn site (copied December 17, 2010) contains information about a Department of Law investigation into dissemination of child porn via the Internet and resulting settlements with Internet service providers. The Pension Padding site (copied December 28, 2010) contains information about an investigation into possible abuses of the public employee pension system. This site was removed from the live Web some time after it was copied.The Charities NYS site (copied December 31, 2010) contains information about charities, charitable giving, and regulation of charities. Researchers should note that this site's search function may redirect from the archived site to the live Department of Law site. The NY Toyota Help site (copied December 31, 2010) contains information for New York owners of recalled Toyota automobiles. Researchers should note that all of the navigational links that appear on the left side of each page within this site go to the main Department of Law site. This site was removed from the live Web some time after it was captured.

The Project Sunlight site (copied January 3, 2011) is designed to serve as a gateway to information about the state government's decision-making process. Researchers should note that most of the hyperlinks on this site consist of links to other Web sites or to databases that cannot be captured by Web archiving technology. However, this copy does contain summary information about the structure of New York State government, campaign finance, state government databases of charities and corporations, the state Freedom of Information Law, lobbying, legislative member items, a glossary of state government terms, and other information about governmental decision-making.

The Know Your Contractor site (copied January 3, 2011) contains information for about home improvement contractors, the rights of people who engage their services, and information about filing complaints about unsatisfactory contractors. Researchers should note that, owing to the structure of the live site and the limitations of Web archiving technology, the contractor database incorporated into this site could not be captured successfully. This site was removed from the live Web some time after it was copied.

B2044-15: This accretion contains a copy of the Department of Law site produced on January 12, 2015, shortly after Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman (2011-2018) began his second term of office. It features press releases (1998-2015), opinions issued by the Attorney General (1995-2013), and information about Department of Law special initiatives, among them human rights, opioid addiction, and individuals and communities affected by mortgage foreclosures. It also contains publications and resources outlining the legal rights of citizens as they relate to automobiles, charitable giving, consumer tips, civil rights, crime and safety, the environment, health, housing, immigration fraud, the Internet, investor protection, labor, senior citizen needs and concerns, student lending, and telecommunications. Basic information about the organizational structure of the Dept. of Law and photographs of and a brief biography of Attorney General Schneiderman are also included.

This accretion also includes copies of two other Department of Law sites and one social media feed. The Stop Child Porn site (copied January 12, 2015) concerns an investigation undertaken by Schneiderman's predecessor; the content captured in 2015 is almost identical to that captured in 2011. This site was removed from the live Web some time after this copy was produced. The Charities NYS site (copied January 12, 2015) contains information about charities, charitable giving, and regulation of charities. Of note are reports and related materials concerning Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.

Attorney General Schneiderman's Twitter feed (copied on December 23, 2014, January 12, 2015, and February 14, 2015), contains information Department of Law activities and public announcements; however, owing to the limitations of Web archiving technology, only a small number of tweets were captured successfully.

Researchers should note that repeated efforts to capture the Project Sunlight site and Attorney General Schneiderman's Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, and Google Plus social media feeds were unsuccessful.

B2044-18: This accretion consists of copies of two pages of the Department of Law site produced on May 8, 2018, the day Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman resigned from office. The About the Attorney General page contains Schneiderman's official biography, and the Statement by Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman page concerns his resignation.

B2044-18A: This accretion consists of a copy of the About the Attorney General page of the Department of Law site produced on December 24, 2018. It contains the official biography of Acting Attorney General Barbara Underwood, who was appointed on May 8, 2018 and left office on December 31, 2018.