In an advisory opinion issued Friday, the state Committee on Open Government says the State Police should not deny Freedom of Information Law requests seeking “aggregate” data such as the number of assault weapons that have been registered under the provisions of the SAFE Act.

The State Police has for almost a year refused to release any data about the number of weapons registered under the controversial gun control law.

Officials have consistently pointed to a little-known clause tucked into the speedily passed law that says registration information is confidential: “Records assembled or collected for purposes of inclusion in such (a) database shall not be subject to disclosure,” the law reads.

To the derision of anti-SAFE activists and transparency advocates — including numerous editorial boards — the State Police has held that the statute covers any data derived from those records, as well. Critics note that the policy prevents New Yorkers from assessing the effectiveness of the registration law.

“Those records you seek are derived from information collected for the State Police database and are, therefore, exempt from disclosure,” State Police spokeswoman Darcy Wells said last November in response to the TU’s FOIL.

COOG’s advisory opinion, written by Assistant Director Camille S. Jobin-Davis, begs to differ.

The SAFE Act clearly “makes application records assembled or collected and maintained by the State Police confidential,” the letter states. “There is no exception indicated, however, for data derived from those records. Specifically, there is no indication that aggregate data or that which can be derived from the collected records is protected.”

The letter notes that the clear legislative intent of the confidentiality protections afforded under the SAFE Act was to shield the permit holder from potential danger or harassment. Aggregate data — such as the raw number of weapons registered — wouldn’t compromise that mission.

“In our opinion,” the four-page letter concludes, “none of the discretionary exceptions appearing in 87(2) of the Freedom of Information Law would permit the State Police to deny access to aggregate data regarding firearm and assault weapons permits reported without identification of individual applicants. On the contrary, we believe that data of that nature must be disclosed pursuant to [the provision of FOIL] which specifies that ‘statistical or factual tabulations or data’ contained within internal agency records be disclosed. Accordingly, it is our opinion that such non-identifying data is required to be disclosed upon request.”

Robert Freeman, the executive director of COOG, has been offering essentially the same opinion since the initial rejections of FOIL requests from the TU and other media outlets.

The opinion does not compel the State Police to release the data, Freeman noted in an interview Saturday morning.

“The hope is that the opinions are educational and persuasive, and encourage adherence to the law,” Freeman said.

The opinion was copied to the State Police’s records access officer. A spokeswoman for the force was not immediately available for comment.

Here’s the opinion letter in full:

Coog Safe 1003