Posted in Open Records on Oct 25th, 2007 No Comments »
FOI Chairman issue letter to Pennsylvania lawmakers to oppose state’s open records bill
Society of Professional Journalists National President Clint Brewer and National Freedom of Information Chairman David Cuiller sent a letter Wednesday to Pennsylvania lawmakers to oppose amendments to the state’s open records law (H.B. 443) currently before the legislature.
If passed with the amendments, the […]
Posted in Open Records News on Oct 25th, 2007 No Comments »
Right-to-Know Law reform up for public discussion
A public discussion on proposed changes to Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law will be held Monday, Oct. 29 in Camp Hill, and will feature key players in the open government debate.
The forum is being hosted by the Pennsylvania Freedom of Information Coalition (PaFOIC) at the Cleve J. Fredricksen Library, 100 N. […]
Posted in Open Records on Oct 23rd, 2007 No Comments »
• State Rep. Thomas R. Caltagirone said Thursday that he would not support an open-records bill expected to go before the House for a vote next week, even though he is listed as a co-sponsor.
The version approved by the House State Government Committee late Wednesday is so weakened by amendments that it takes away his […]
Posted in Open Records on Oct 22nd, 2007 1 Comment »
This press release just came from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.
PNA comments on open records legislation
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 22, 2007 — The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association (PNA) is encouraged by proposed amendments to Senate Bill 1, released today by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware).
“We believe that the bill, as proposed to be amended, would be […]
Posted in Open Records on Oct 22nd, 2007 No Comments »
“On Wednesday night, the Open Records bill (HB 443) became the victim of a gut-and-run maneuver. Using a fast-track process, the committee eliminated many of the bill’s most important protections. This was a classic case of how a bad governing process creates bad laws.” Barry Kaufman, executive director, Common Cause of Pennsylvania.
“If the point […]
Posted in Open Records on Oct 19th, 2007 1 Comment »
“A Pennsylvania House Committee Wednesday night approved a bill that would overhaul the state’s open records law over protests about last-minute revisions. . . .
“In the end, a Pennsylvania Newspaper Association representative said the constituent privacy protections in the bill approved by the committee, effectively make the measure a step backward.”
The measure is a step […]
Posted in Open Records on Oct 19th, 2007 No Comments »
From the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association:
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 19, 2007 — The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is poised to vote on legislation that would reform Pennsylvania’s open records law. Unfortunately, the legislation, as amended, would actually result in less access to Pennsylvania government.
“Although legislators and other state leaders have voiced their commitment to open records reform, […]
Posted in Open Records on Oct 19th, 2007 3 Comments »
Some reflections on House Bill 443 as it was reported out of the State Government Committee on Wednesday night (line listings are from Printer’s Bill No. 813, and there have been some changes since).
Chapter 1 gets off to a great start by saying all the right things:
(1) The free flow of information between State […]
Posted in Open Records on Oct 18th, 2007 2 Comments »
The AP’s Mark Scolforo wrote the following article about yesterday’s open-records vote in the Pennsylvania House’s State Government Committee. It makes you wonder about all the words we have been hearing for almost a year . . . like “transparency” and “openness.” It makes you wonder about the commitment to meaningful open records as the […]
Posted in Open Records on Oct 17th, 2007 No Comments »
The Committee of Seventy has issued a press release today urging the General Assembly to pass open records reform.
“Pennsylvania has the embarrassing distinction of being one of the worst states in providing access to public documents,” said Zack Stalberg, Seventy’s President and CEO. “It’s time to establish a presumption of openness. It shouldn’t […]