Published: February 01, 2008 01:34 pm            

Big step in making information available to public

Residents of Pennsylvania got some very good news last week that might have been lost in the noise of shifting election races and worries about an economic recession.

On Wednesday, the state Senate passed – unanimously – a “Right-To-Know” bill that will greatly increase our access to public records and information. The House is expected to pass the measure this week with the governor then signing it, and we urge both to act promptly.

The new law - to take effect Jan. 1, 2009 – will make it easier for residents and the media to keep tabs on what our leaders and government agencies are doing. The bill widens the definition of what information is to be public, puts the responsibility on agencies to provide information, and makes it easier for people to request and obtain that information.

The passing of the bill is the culmination of a two-year fight by news media across the state, led by the efforts of the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.

There still will be significant exceptions to access, including matters tied to homeland security. But this development is indeed a victory for those who believe government should operate in the open, and citizens should have the right to find out what officials are up to.

The legislation was the buzz at a two-day governmental affairs conference held Wednesday and Thursday in Harrisburg and sponsored by the PNA.

Teri Henning, a lawyer with the PNA, said: “We think the positives outweigh the negatives. ... It is our hope that this leads to a consistent and fair application of open access.”

One of the key figures in this movement is Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, a Delaware County Republican and the bill’s sponsor.

Pileggi told the Associated Press: “Pennsylvania needs a stronger open records law, because transparency builds trust in government. A strong open records law is the foundation of true government reform.”

Some of the bill’s highlights:

The definition of “state agencies,” will be extended to community colleges as well as PHEAA and the PIAA, which will have to release records when requested.

Records and information requests will be accepted via e-mail for the first time, hopefully reducing the complexity of the process.

Legislative records will be presumed to be public. This will include lawmakers’ financial documents, salary and expense information, hearing transcripts and a host of other items.

State-related universities (including Penn State and Pitt), which are funded in part by tax dollars, will make public certain financial information, including the salaries of their 25 highest-paid employees.

Civil penalties will be enforced for agencies that don’t release information in a proper manner and time frame.

To me, the real heroes are the Pennsylvania residents who contacted their local lawmakers and pushed them for greater access.

Although the news media lobbied hard for what we believe is an important institutional change, without the voices of the people echoing the cry, nothing would have been done.

The evidence lies in what changes were not made.

The media had sought complete access to autopsy reports, especially in murder cases. But the public did not agree, and did not raise a ruckus about that request. As a result, autopsies were not made public in this bill, and coroners need only release the deceased’s name, cause of death and manner of death.

All along this effort has not been about the media wanting access to the deepest, darkest secrets about our government officials.

This has been about making information available to all Pennsylvanians.

And with the bill’s imminent passage, we can say we’ve made some real progress on that important topic.

As the House was taking up the measure, Steve Miskin, spokesman for House Minority Leader Sam Smith, said: “This bill will actually affect real Pennsylvanians.”

That’s why it matters.



Chip Minemyer is the editor of The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 532-5091.

        

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