passopenrecords.org

Jamie wrote about the Windber Borough Manager’s “confidential” severance agreement a few days ago; earlier this week, The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat reports that they’ve successfully retrieved the document via an open records request.

There’s news of ANOTHER open records contest, and before the Local Government Association gets all riled up, this one isn’t ours. However, this one has a huge cash prize…The Sam Adams Alliance has launched their “Sammies” - “a series of awards for outstanding citizen leadership and creativity. Cash prizes totaling $35,000 will be awarded to citizen leaders who are making effective change for more accountable and transparent government.” Sorry that we’re poor, readers - no big cash prizes for our Challenge - but you might want to check it out! Hmm…there’s a category for blogging…maybe Jamie and I could enter!

The Bucks County Courier Times reports that Rep. Josh Shapiro’s is committed to open records reform:

“A vote on an Open Records bill sponsored by Rep. Tim Mahoney, a Fayette County Democrat, could come in early October, Shapiro predicted.
That bill would for the first time require the Legislature to abide by the Open Records law and make documents publicly available.”

The Lewistown Sentinel reports that they have obtained the results of a settlement between Mifflin County and their accounting firm. The suit “sought the recovery of damages that resulted from an accounting firm’s alleged failure to discover the embezzlement of nearly $1 million by former Mifflin County Prothonotary Sue Ellen Saxton and her husband, Fred.”
The settlement was deemed confidential but “states the information may be released under a court order or as “otherwise required by law,” including the provisions of the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act and the Pennsylvania Right to Know Act.”

The Sentinel editorialized Friday that newspapers must “champion people’s right to know” and says that this case in their backyard illustrates why a stronger right-to-know law is necessary.

The New Castle News’ Mitch Olszak sent us his latest column on open records, which appeared on Sept. 20. He gave us permission to use it, which appears in its entirety below:

Will Harrisburg end its penchant for secrecy?

Innocence has its place in this world.

But not when it comes to comprehending Pennsylvania politics.

Freshman state Rep. Tim Mahoney is optimistic about the opportunity to beef up the commonwealth’s weak open records law.
Speaking at a conference Saturday in Pittsburgh, the Uniontown Democrat said he saw no real opposition to his proposed legislation, HB 443, which seeks to strengthen existing open records rules. He even declared that he had the House majority leader, Bill DeWeese, as one of the bill’s sponsors.

For those of us who recognize the inherent ineffectiveness of Pennsylvania’s current open records law, this is an encouraging assessment. It’s nice to think that lawmakers have finally seen the error of their ways, and that they are actually prepared to protect the people’s right to know.

But some of us don’t share Mahoney’s sunny view of open records reform. The foes of good government in Harrisburg typically operate in the shadows, confident they can quietly kill legislation in a hundred different ways. They know how to bury bills and how to devise distractions that protect the status quo.

PESSIMISTIC VIEW
Another lawmaker who supports open records reform also spoke at Saturday’s conference, sponsored by the PA Freedom of Information Coalition and the Pittsburgh chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

But Sen. Jim Ferlo of Pittsburgh is a legislative veteran who’s well aware of the bare-knuckle and back-stabbing realities of state politics. The Democrat openly worries that open records reform is going nowhere.

The reason? Not enough people are paying attention. Even though Ferlo has introduced SB 765, which would significantly improve public access to government records, he sees little citizen interest.

Without public pressure, Ferlo figures the Legislature will do nothing on this issue. Lawmakers benefit greatly from a system that allows them to conceal many of their activities. After all, current rules exempt the Legislature from the few open records rules that exist.

And rest assured, the special interests that operate behind the scenes in Harrisburg aren’t pushing for reform. They enjoy their own little ways of obtaining privileged information, and they have no incentive to level the playing field.
Saturday’s conference examined the inadequacies of the open records law. Journalists spoke of the brick walls they’ve encountered trying to gain access to information that ought to be readily available.

Along with outright refusal that can lead to expensive court battles, the session explored a new tactic being employed to advance the cause of keeping the public in the dark.

It’s called the redaction fee. Even when records are ruled to be open, agencies have the power to first review them and remove sections they claim are confidential. The time spent doing this by administrators or attorneys is added to the cost of copying records. Fees can run into the thousands of dollars.

LEGAL FIGHT
And it’s not just journalists who deal with open records difficulties. Private citizens have at least as many problems.
One of them is Beverly Schenck, a Butler County resident who spoke at Saturday’s session. She is locked in a lengthy court battle with Center Township to gain access to an itemized solicitor’s bill the township refuses to release.
So far, the township has spent $100,000 to protect its solicitor secrets. The case is now before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Despite such horror stories, Ferlo sees minimal movement on open records or most other types of reform in Harrisburg. Public outrage over the Legislature’s pay-raise debacle is fading, and other — more complicated — issues fail to spark the same degree of anger.

So lawmakers are inclined to slip back into their old habits. Before you know it, all talk of reform will be squelched and business as usual with be the order of the day in Harrisburg.

This tells me that voters haven’t sufficiently terrorized their elected representatives. In a state where voters have no right to initiative or referendum, where they cannot directly petition the government to push for reforms, where they cannot recall incompetent or corrupt officials, throwing the bums out is the only tool the public has at its disposal.
If people want better government, they need to start using that tool much more often.