Lebanon Daily News, Oct. 8

State looks to ‘open’ records

By RICHARD FELLINGER
Staff Writer

Lawmakers are preparing to debate a new law outlining what government records are available to the public in Pennsylvania — an effort to overhaul an antiquated open-records law that is considered one of the weakest in the nation.

Legislative leaders say a new open-records law is a priority this fall as they continue eyeing reform initiatives in the wake of the 2005 pay raise that focused more attention on how government operates — and led to the political demise of many members of the Legislature’s old guard.

The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association is lobbying for new open-records rules, and lawmakers are eyeing several bills that would rewrite the 1957 law.

PNA general counsel Teri Henning said recent revelations such as five-figure bonuses to legislative staffers and extravagant spending by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency show why open records are important.

“That’s why people should care. I think that’s why people do care,” Henning said.

Besides journalists, those who often seek government records include taxpayer groups and candidates for public office.

Open-records bills are expected to move this month in the House and Senate. Senators are eyeing a plan from Majority Leader Dominic Pillegi, R-Delaware, and the House is considering a bill sponsored by Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Fayette.

Pillegi introduced his bill earlier this year and is working on an amendment that would make it more acceptable to open-records advocates, said his spokesman, Erik Arneson.

“Our goal is, with a little bit of luck, to get it through the Senate this month,” Arneson said.

House leaders expect Mahoney’s bill to clear the State Government Committee on Oct. 17, said Bill Patton, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis O’Brien, R-Philadelphia.

Many area lawmakers say they back a broad, new open-records bill with only limited exemptions for records affecting ongoing police investigations, homeland security, and personal information such as medical data and Social Security numbers.

Lebanon County Sen. Mike Folmer said he wants the law to protect public safety and personal privacy, but he otherwise wants an open-records law that goes “all the way.”

Henning said it’s hard to know which bill the newspaper association will prefer because the amendment process is unpredictable, but she listed several key concepts PNA wants to see included.

One is a new definition of “public record” that presumes all records are public unless they are specifically exempted in the law. Current law puts the burden on the person requesting records to prove they have a right to information, a requirement that makes it easier for governments to withhold records.

PNA also wants a narrow list of exemptions to the law. The newspaper association understands the need to exempt records such as those affecting homeland security, ongoing police probes and personal medical information, Henning said.

Rep. Steven Nickol, R-Hanover, who sits on one of the state pension boards, said he also wants the law to protect certain information that could undermine the value of the state’s investments.

PNA also wants a state-level office or agency to have the power to hear appeals over open-records disputes, and it wants the Legislature covered by the law. The current right-to-know law does not cover the Legislature, which means legislative leaders have been able to withhold certain spending records, such as details of special leadership-controlled accounts.

The last update to the state’s right-to-know law was in 2002, but critics such as PNA said it didn’t go far enough. Henning called those changes “procedural only.”

Those changes set timeframes for governments to reply to record requests and put limits on the fees that governments can charge for providing records.

The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association sponsors a blog on open-records issues at www.passopenrecords.org.

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