The (Scranton) Times-Tribune, Oct. 23

Opening records isn’t complicated

The state government continues to treat its own transparency, and that of local governments, like some exotic scientific theory that is difficult for the uninitiated to grasp.

In reality, though, there is nothing complicated about opening government records to public scrutiny. All it requires is a fundamental shift in perspective, which in itself would lead to the appropriate law.

Pennsylvania's open-record law is one of the weakest in the land because it is designed to serve politicians rather than the public.

In most states, open-record laws presume public records to be open to public scrutiny, with very specific exceptions carved out of that presumption. When a challenge to such an exception arises, it is left to the government to prove why the record should not be disclosed.

Pennsylvania's standard is upside-down and backward. When a government official denies a citizen or a news organization access to a public record, it is left to the person seeking the information to prove that the record should be open. The legal costs of doing so often are enough to deter citizens from pursuing information to which they are entitled.

In a series of meetings with newspaper editorial boards, Gov. Ed Rendell has said he favors revising the state's open-record law along lines being pushed by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. Gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann also has advocated far greater transparency, especially by the state government.

Mr. Rendell noted last week, for example, the absurdity of the law preventing the public accounting of "leadership accounts" maintained by the party caucus leaders in the House and Senate. This is not petty cash at stake. The accounts total about $130 million, but the state auditor general is precluded from examining spending from those accounts.

A spokesman for House Speaker John Perzel noted last week that Mr. Rendell himself does not always disclose information sought by the Legislature. But the issue isn't who is the biggest offender. The issue is that the state government, especially, needs to be made far more transparent, along with local governments. Bringing that about actually could help lawmakers by protecting them from their own bad instincts, such as the unaccountable back-room dealing that led to last year's pay-raise debacle.

The Legislature is not likely to deal with open-record improvements before the end of this session. But it would be a good place for the new Legislature, with at least 47 new members, to begin next year.

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