News roundup
Nov 30th, 2007 by dani_k
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says that the final open records bill should be undertaken carefully:
“After each chamber passes its version of open-records legislation, a conference committee likely will produce a joint bill. By all means, this matter should move along. But there must be sufficient public scrutiny before a final vote. There should be no fine print, no cagey codicils, that pull a hood over government transparency.”
The Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice is urging legislators to “work for an open records law that makes the documents of the entire legislature — along with state agencies and local governments — open to the public.”
The Sunbury Daily Item wonders whether PennDOT’s bridge inspections would be considered open records under the new, proposed law.
The Carlisle Sentinel compares the open records legislative process to “attending a very long and protracted labor on the way to what we hope will be a perfect birth,” but says there’s still work to do. I’ll just let that one go since all I know about childbirth I learned from watching Knocked Up.
The Philadelphia Inquirer agrees there’s a long way to go - and that the SB 1 isn’t as good as HB 2072.
The Senate Appropriations Committee says an open records clearinghouse would cost the state $1 million in its first year, with lower costs after that, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.