People's right to records a key

By Mike Wereschagin
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Pennsylvania ranks among the worst states when it comes to making government information public. Four proposals being considered in Harrisburg -- including one in the House, two in the Senate and one in the Governor's Office -- could change that. Right-to-know advocates and the bills' sponsors say the most important change would be to reverse the state's long-held presumption that government documents don't belong to the governed.

"We are one of only a handful of states where records are not presumed to be public," said Melissa Melewsky, an attorney for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. "I think that's one of the big problems."

Pennsylvania is tied with Alaska as having the third-worst open records laws in the country, according to a survey of open records laws by the Better Government Association, a nonprofit government watchdog. Pennsylvania's presumption of secrecy is the main reason why, Melewsky said.

"The person seeking the records has the burden of proof. Most other states have -- and what we would like to see here is -- a reverse of that: a situation where a document held by the government is presumed to be public unless the government can prove it's non-public."

That's the main aim of a bill being drafted in Gov. Ed Rendell's office, said Donna Cooper, Rendell's secretary of planning and policy.

"Basically what we're saying is, we believe the records of the government, whether the commonwealth or local government, are really records to which citizens have a right to access," Cooper said.

The bill Rendell's staffers are drafting, which is based on model legislation provided by the newspaper association, carves out exceptions only when the records would jeopardize security, Cooper said. Administration officials plan to bring together a group of civic leaders to review the bill later this month, then pass along the legislation to Democratic leaders in hopes someone will sponsor it.

The bills also would force the General Assembly to comply with the law. The Legislature exempted itself the last time it overhauled the right-to-know law, in 2002.

State Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Uniontown, said that was a mistake. Mahoney and State Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, have introduced bills similar to the one Rendell's office is producing. Ferlo introduced his yesterday.

"It's the people's records," Mahoney said. "Why not let them be able to get the records?"

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware County, has said he also plans to introduce a bill strengthening the law by making it apply to the Legislature, judiciary, public universities and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. He has said his bill likely won't reverse the presumption of secrecy, however.

Some worry that altering the law by making it presume a record is public could invalidate 50 years of case law and cause an avalanche of lawsuits, Melewsky said. However, she disagrees with that assessment.

The newspaper association, she said, also advocates opening more government meetings to the public and increasing the $100 fine which now is the only penalty for violating the open meeting law.

"The free flow of information is a hallmark of democracy and open government. Without it, the democratic process cannot take place," Melewsky said. "How can you and I, as citizens, give any kind of meaningful input if we have no idea what's being done?"

Mike Wereschagin can be reached at mwereschagin@tribweb.com

Reproduction or reuse prohibited without written consent from Tribune-Review Publishing Co.