Posted in Open Records on Nov 15th, 2007 No Comments »
Not so fast, folks.
Majority Leader Bill DeWeese said the changes were made “in furthering my commitment to reform.”
• Democrats purge top staffers
Several top House Democratic staffers were forced from their jobs Tuesday in the latest hint at how the majority caucus has been shaken by an ongoing grand jury investigation of its campaign practices and […]
Posted in Open Records on Nov 14th, 2007 No Comments »
Reform is dead, the public’s anger over the pay raise is a thing of the past, and it’s back to business as usual in Harrisburg.
At least, that’s what I keep hearing is the lesson of last week’s election.
I would not be so quick to read that lesson into the off-off-year elections, and you certainly […]
Posted in Open Records on Nov 12th, 2007 No Comments »
In recent letters to the Daily Local News of West Chester, both Rep. Barbara McIlvaine Smith and Gordon Davis, Jr. weigh in against the version of House Bill 443 that came out of the State Government Committee and is now before the full House.
• Citizens have right to review records
The points contained in your recent […]
Posted in Open Records News on Nov 8th, 2007 No Comments »
We aren’t the only ones declaring HB 443 a mess. This week, papers all over the state were abuzz over HB 443 and other open records issues.
On Saturday, the Lewistown Sentinel said that HB 443 “will make it harder than ever to hold public officials and agencies accountable for their decisions and […]
Posted in Open Records on Nov 8th, 2007 No Comments »
At least in its current form, in which it has been amended to the point where it is unrecognizable as the bill originally offered by Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fayette), we urge Pennsylvania’s Representatives to vote against House Bill 443, and we urge their constituents to tell them to do so.
You may well ask how we […]
Posted in Open Records on Nov 7th, 2007 No Comments »
Obviously, if it takes two days to outline a partial list of problems, there is a lot wrong with House Bill 443.
Yesterday, we wrote about the exemption of all – yes, all – emails from the open records law, as well as about blanket exemptions that create exceptions so large that they effectively neutralize the […]
Posted in Open Records on Nov 6th, 2007 No Comments »
Let’s see — where to begin?
The correct multiple choice answer is, “plenty.” The short essay answer:
When Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fayette) introduced House Bill 443, it seemed like a great start. And it was, but unfortunately the bill that came out of the State Government Committee and went to the floor of the House, trailing 77 […]
Posted in Open Records on Nov 2nd, 2007 No Comments »
In a vote that was expected but still wrong, the House of Representatives voted 127 to 69 against making emails subject to the open records law (HB 443) they are currently debating.
Rep. Chris Ross (R-Chester) was one of the 69 who voted in include emails. Asked why, he said that he did not understand the […]
Posted in Open Records News on Nov 1st, 2007 No Comments »
In a Monday editorial, Philadelphia Inquirer says, “Lawmakers should be guided by openness and access, not loopholes.”
The next day, the Centre Daily Times said “The General Assembly should consider adopting a new state slogan. You’ve got a friend in Pennsylvania. We just won’t tell you who it is.” That same day, the […]