Published: August 16, 2007 09:21 am      

Open records law: Accountability at last

Even if you never go to City Hall for a copy of the general fund budget, open records are important to you. And even if you never go to a school district office to see a copy of the payroll records to find out how much a certain school principal is making, open records are important to you.

Open records create clear accountability for the public officials who work for you.

In Harrisburg, the bipartisan reform commission created by House Speaker Dennis O’Brien held a public hearing to review a bill from Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Fayette. This bill is the key to the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association’s effort to toughen the state’s Sunshine Act on behalf of residents.

This bill would shift the burden from the public to state and local government agencies to explain why public records and public documents should remain secret.

So if you want to go to City Hall or another government office to see a public document that actually belongs to you, no bureaucrat will be able to say, “Why do you want to see this record?”

In the recent state-budget compromise, legislative leaders declined to reveal how $360 million in the legislators’ “walking-around money” slush fund would be used in the legislators’ home districts.

Excuse us, please. Whose money is this? This is not the Legislature’s money. It’s your money.

This change in law would make lawmakers more accountable to you.