Newspaper association solicits public support for open records reform

04/28/2007
Editorial

The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association has instituted a new campaign to increase the public’s access to government information, saying the timing is right for state government to change its dark and secret ways.

Putting a fresh angle on the debate for open records, PNA has created a blog, passopenrecords.org, that will allow citizens from across the state to get involved in the campaign.

The effort is focused on state legislation to expand Pennsylvania’s open records law, considered one of the most restrictive in the nation.

"This state has a long, sad tradition of keeping its citizens in the dark when it comes to information about government operations," said Tim Williams, PNA’s president. Some recent examples include the following:

• The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency spent $862,000 in board retreats over a five year period, yet fought a lengthy and expensive court battle (which it eventually lost) to keep the expense details private.

• The Pennsylvania State University has fought to keep the salary of football coach Joe Paterno private, despite the fact that Paterno participates in the State Employees’ Retirement System and the university receives millions in state funding each year. That case is before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

• In 2005 and 2006, Pennsylvania legislators paid $3.6 million in taxpayer-funded bonuses to legislative staffers. These payments were not previously disclosed because the General Assembly has exempted itself from the state’s open records law and did not release the information until recently.

A 2002 survey by the government watchdog group, Better Government Association, ranked Pennsylvania’s open records environment 48th out of the 50 states. The commonwealth tied with Alaska, and only Alabama and South Dakota were considered worse. On the final report card, Pennsylvania received a grade of F.

PNA has been calling for more government openness for years but has been met with significant opposition from legislators and others. But, Williams said, in the last year taxpayers across Pennsylvania have rediscovered their collective voice in demanding government accountability. Their agenda includes expanding access to government information, and lawmakers are listening.

In an effort to capture the public debate on this issue -- which often occurs locally and far from Harrisburg-- PNA created passopenrecords.org.

The goal is to provide people with a home for discussing greater government access.

While the remedy for open records will have to occur in Harrisburg, the impetus -- and the need -- exists throughout the greater Pottstown area.

In just the past three weeks, open records requests and open meetings questions have dominated news in Collegeville and Trappe over a citizen’s request for data on the amount of a carcinogenic pollutant in the air and in the borough of Pottstown over executive sessions called by the water and sewer authority.

The recent revelations about excessive spending by PHEAA and two years ago, the legislative pay raise in the middle of the night are examples of state government actions that outraged local residents.

In both cases, the secrecy surrounding the events disturbed people as much as the actions themselves.

Open records reform is not a governmental procedure quagmire; it is a necessity that affects the lives of each and every citizen of this region.

PNA is taking the lead in inviting more input that can be used to demand change.

@The Mercury 2007