New Pennsylvania law opens more records to the public
Feb. 14, 2008
By MARTHA RAFFAELE
Associated Press Writer
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Ed Rendell ended Pennsylvania's distinction of having one of the nation's weakest open-records laws Thursday by signing into law a bill that will open a broader array of government documents to public inspection.
The measure makes sweeping changes to the state's Right-to-Know Law, which was enacted in 1957. It took lawmakers 13 months to agree on a version to send to the governor as they argued over how much information to conceal from average citizens and journalists.
"Is it a perfect bill? No. Is it a good bill? Absolutely. Is it a step on the road to reform? Without a doubt," said Rendell, who signed the bill at a Capitol news conference, surrounded by Democratic and Republican legislators.
The new law, which takes effect in January, will force agencies to disclose all records beyond a list of exceptions, rather than the old law's narrow list of public records available.
Agencies also will be required to justify any decisions to keep records secret. The old law put the legal burden on citizens to prove why a record must be disclosed.
Revising the law became a cornerstone of the Legislature's reform agenda after two dozen lawmakers were voted out in the wake of the 2005 pay raise debacle. The raise, which the General Assembly passed hastily in the middle of one summer night, was later repealed.
"It's something I think that will pay dividends for years to come in the interaction between citizens and their government, and I think further affirms the commitment we've made ... to an open and transparent process, which would necessarily help citizens regain confidence in their government," said Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, the bill's prime sponsor.
Critics of the current law have complained that it saddles citizens with a cumbersome and costly appeal process when their requests are rejected and imposes comparatively weak penalties on officials who violate it.
The new law will establish a central state government office to set policies and deal with disputes about what should be released. Penalties will be stiffer for agencies that violate the law. And the law requires state agencies to respond faster to records requests.
The revisions will increase public access to 911 tapes and transcripts, mandate access to many of the General Assembly's records and expand the law to the "state-related" universities: Penn State, Pitt, Lincoln and Temple.
Groups representing media outlets and open-government advocates have expressed concerns about certain provisions of the new law — such as allowing agencies to withhold the names, ages and addresses of people 17 years old and younger. But they emphasized the positive Thursday.
"If we have the opportunity to present our case again on certain issues, we certainly will," said Corinna Vecsey Wilson of the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. "But we feel we have been given a very fair hearing in Harrisburg ... and for today, we really are just expressing our gratitude."
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