A Good Day
Jun 5th, 2007 by JamieB
In his remarks yesterday to the Senate State Government Committee on Senate Bill 1, his open-records reform legislation, Senator Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware) spoke thoughtfully and frankly about the central issue of the debate: should all public records be presumed to be open to the public unless they are specifically exempted? At the time, Pileggi said that his bill did not “flip the presumption” because he feared doing so would lead to a lot of litigation. But he had clearly thought a great deal about the question, and he asked all those who would testify after him to address the issue, which he said was “fundamental.”
Sen. Jeffrey Piccola (R-Dauphin), the committee chair, agreed that “presumption” was the critical issue and said the committee would focus on it. Later, Piccola told the audience that he was “leaning very, very strongly in the direction of changing the presumption,” but he wanted to be sure that: (1) important records, including law enforcement, security, and private and personal information, would be protected and (2) that Sen. Pileggi’s concern about “a whole raft of litigation” would not happen.
Yesterday afternoon, Senator Pileggi issued the following statement:
Sen. Pileggi Pledges Open Records Expansion
“Since introducing Senate Bill 1, I’ve heard from many people who believe that the legal presumption should be that a government record is public unless it meets an exception specifically listed in law. That position was also advocated by several of those who testified at today’s public hearing.
“I am now convinced that we should reverse the presumption in Pennsylvania’s law, despite concerns that doing so could lead to an increase in litigation and delay the benefit from strengthening our Open Records Act.
“Reversing the presumption is a major change, and we need to carefully balance the right of citizens to review records with the need for appropriate exceptions to protect legitimate interests. Developing the list of exceptions should involve input from a wide spectrum of interested parties.
“My goal is to work with Sen. Piccola and other members of the Senate, members of the House, Gov. Rendell, the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association and other organizations. I hope to prepare an amendment to Senate Bill 1 which can be offered in the State Government Committee as soon as possible.”
This is good news and a great start on the path to meaningful open records legislation.
I have to tell you that I had no idea what to expect at yesterday’s hearing. My fear was that, in a state with such an abysmal open records history, the legislators would not take the matter seriously. That was not at all the case, at least for the four senators who were there – Pileggi, Piccola, Mike Folmer and Michael Brubaker. They listened attentively, asked pertinent questions and had clearly done a lot of thinking about the issue. It was impressive, and it was heartening.
There is much work to be done, but for now let us savor how far we have come.
Yesterday was a good day.
• My response to Tom, who commented on yesterday’s post: “Thank you for posting this blog with in-depth info about an important issue to Pennsylvanians and honest government. What would you suggest an average person do to push this issue?”
Tom,
Thanks so much for your post on the blog and interest in the issue.
I think there are a number of things we can individually do – most importantly is to let your own legislators know that this issue is important to you and you hope they will support it. It really is the foundation of democratic government. And tell people you know to do the same.
At the risk of sounding self-serving, it would be great to have you and others get involved in the conversation on this site. This blog is aimed at all the people of Pennsylvania, not just at the press or politicians or others who have been professionally involved in this issue.
We’d like people to send us stories of their experiences with trying to get records in the past or with other issues in which agencies at any level – state, county, local, school district – have sought to act in ways that keep the public in the dark.
For, as Ron Barber, legal counsel for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, said at the hearing, “Sunshine is the best disinfectant there is.”