On behalf of the Newspaper Association, I feel the need to respond to this post. The open records challenge is not intended to - nor should it - place an unreasonable burden on any particular municipality or public official. The challenge is intended to shed light on public records issues in Pennsylvania, and we intentionally gave participants a wide range of options in making an open records request. Each participant is asked to request only one document, among a wide-ranging list. The record requested could include: the contract of any school superintendent, township manager, or county executive; the total amount spent on legal fees by any township, county, borough, or town for the year 2006; a specific settlement agreement between any municipality and a third person (who must be named); or minutes from the last two public meetings of any municipality, school board, board of trustees or other public agency. Not only are these documents that are clearly public records under Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Law, they are also documents that should be easily accessible upon request.

In fact, news organizations routinely conduct “open records audits,” to gauge public agency compliance with state open records laws. See, for example http://foi.missouri.edu/openrecseries.html. These audits have been very effective in identifying problems with state open records laws and, in a number of cases, have led to improved open records laws.

What a shame that the PA Newspaper Association has chosen to burden already over worked and understaffed municipal employees with a game to get information for which the requesters have no need. Your game has the potential of burdening the people who have no control over the law; it is not fair to them. You are wasting tax payer money, so if you feel that taxpayers are already victims under the current law, you are making their situation worse. I am disappointed that the PA Newspaper Association would cheapen the discussion of a serious issue by the use of an irresponsible publicity stunt.