passopenrecords.org

…and not about the government’s opinion as to whether a request is “frivolous” or not.

I wrote this morning about the letter from the Pennsylvania Local Government Conference and PNA’s response.

The Pennsylvania Local Government Committee has also distributed a press release which reads, in part, “Right-to-Know requests always (emphasis mine) are addressed in a professional and competent manner…” For more, read the entire PLGC press release.

Now folks, we know that statement unfortunately isn’t always the case. There are many municipalities and local government entities who comply with open-records laws to the best of their ability, but there have been instances when citizens just can’t get the records which they have a right to inspect, even if the request is well within the boundaries of the law.

The PNA issued a press release in response, which reads, in part:

For many years, the PNA and its members have advocated in support of a stronger open records law in the state. Pennsylvania’s law is one of the worst in the country, and the PNA will continue to work to change that. If there is to be meaningful reform in this area, however, it is critically important that a wide variety of voices be heard and a wide range of issues discussed, Williams said. “Unfortunately, the local government response to the Challenge makes it clear that we have much work ahead. In order to achieve real change in this area, we must also find a way to combat the idea that public records “belong” to the agencies, as opposed to the public.”

Read the PNA’s press release in response to the PLGC’s criticism.