Posted in Open Records on Jul 31st, 2007 No Comments »
There are currently three open-records bills making their way through the legislature: (1) Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware)’s Senate Bill 1; (2) Jim Ferlo (D-Allegheny)’s Senate Bill 765; and (3) Tim Mahoney (D-Fayette)’s House Bill 443.
Each bill is different, and we thought it would be valuable to look at them side by side, so we askeid Teri […]
Posted in Open Records on Jul 30th, 2007 No Comments »
PUBLIC HEARING: A public hearing has been scheduled on Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fayette)’s open-records bill (HB 443: an “Act requiring certain records of the State & its political subdivisions, authorities & agencies & other public bodies to be open for examination, inspection., etc., establishing the Office of Access to Public Records, etc., & making a […]
Posted in Open Records News on Jul 28th, 2007 1 Comment »
A quick blurb about the news that’s been circulating around PA this week…
The Uniontown Herald-Standard wrote about open records reform that’s expected for fall. They also highlighted the House State Government Committee’s Aug. 7 hearing on Rep. Mahoney’s HB 443.
On Thursday, the Allentown Morning Call editorialized on the availability of PA’s state records […]
Posted in passopenrecords.org news on Jul 26th, 2007 No Comments »
We know, we promised this a long time ago. And while it’s still in the early stages, our list of Legislative Advocates is up and running!
Either click on the text link in this entry or try the navigation tab at the top of the page creatively titled “Legislative Advocates.” We […]
Posted in Open Records on Jul 26th, 2007 No Comments »
House Bill 976, which passed unanimously in the lower chamber but has not yet been voted on in the senate, mandates that Pennsylvania put all its laws on the Internet where they can be accessed for free.
It turns out that Pennsylvania is the ONLY state that does not currently have that program for its […]
Posted in Open Records on Jul 25th, 2007 No Comments »
Despite the public and prolific announcements of legislative leaders that open-records reform is at the top of their to-do list for the fall session, there remain a good many doubters around the state about how much – if any – reform we may actually see.
• Take, for example, John Baer, whose column in Monday’s Philadelphia […]
Posted in Citizen Stories on Jul 24th, 2007 No Comments »
We received another story from a reader, Albert Jacobs, regarding his concerns about his local school district. Albert has his own blog, Oley Concerned Citizens , which details residents’ concerns about the school district.
Thanks, Albert, for sending us your stories. If any of you out there have similar stories, please share them with […]
Posted in Open Records on Jul 24th, 2007 No Comments »
No, the headline does not refer to a ride on the New York subway.
It is instead kind of a good news/bad news story. In its latest survey, the Center for Public Integrity ranked Pennsylvania 34th of the 50 states in terms of its financial disclosure laws. That’s a huge leap forward for a state that […]
Posted in Open Records News on Jul 23rd, 2007 No Comments »
Friday’s Uniontown Herald Standard had more on PA receiving an “F” in public information.
WPSU and The Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice both ran stories that cited open records reform as an item on the Legislature’s to-do list in the new session beginning on Sept. 17.
And today’s Allentown Morning Call editorial says open […]
Posted in Open Records on Jul 23rd, 2007 1 Comment »
Who says that the politics has become so divisively partisan that nothing can get done in Harrisburg anymore?
Maybe open records reform is the key to bipartisanship. Certainly, it is an issue that seems to cross all political and philosophical boundaries from right to left. Could it bring together Republicans and Democrats in a state […]