Legislative Advocates
Aug 8th, 2007 by dani_k
Since mid-July 2007, we’ve been reaching out to legislators asking them to show their support for open records.
We told them we’re posting the list on the blog and sharing it with the public.
Here’s our “ask”:
Voters say it is time for Pennsylvania lawmakers to pass legislation expanding the state’s open records law.
A strong open records law would include the following components:
1. Acknowledgement that records belong to the public
2. Improved definition of ‘public record’ and a presumption of access to public records
3. Burden of proof on the agency denying access
4. A broader definition of ‘agency’ that includes the Legislature, state-related universities and organizations that rely on state funding
5. Creation of a centralized administrative appeal office, open records ombudsman, or similar entity that assists citizens with records denials without the need for court action
6. Meaningful penalties for open records law violations
Three bills have been introduced to change the open records law.
Rep. Tim Mahoney’s House Bill 443
Sen. Dominic Pileggi’s Senate Bill 1
Sen. Jim Ferlo’s Senate Bill 765
The legislators listed below have signed on as advocates of Pennsylvania’s open record law reform. We will be updating this list as legislative support grows.
Please note that this list is a work in progress, and will be updated frequently. If you are a legislator and would like your name added to the list, please e-mail Teri Henning or fax this page to her at (717)703-3001.
If you are a constituent, please contact your legislator about open records reform and urge them to visit our site and sign on in support.
Pennsylvania’s Legislative Advocates:
House of Representatives
Rep. William Adolph, Jr., R-165 (Delware County)
Rep. Dave Argall, R-124 (Berks and Schuylkill Counties)
Rep. Bob Bastian, R-69 (Bedford and Somerset Counties)
Rep. John Bear R-97 (Lancaster County)
Rep. Vince Biancucci, D-15 (Beaver County)
Rep. Scott Boyd, R-43 (Lancaster County)
Rep. Steven Cappelli, R-83 (Lycoming County)
Rep. Mike Carroll, D-118 (Luzerne and Monroe Counties)
Rep. Martin Causer, R-67 (Cameron, Mckean and Potter Counties)
Rep. Paul Clymer, R-145 (Bucks County)
Rep. Tom Creighton, R-37 (Lancaster County)
Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-100 (Lancaster County)
Rep. Peter Daley, D-49 (Fayette and Washington Counties)
Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-95 (York County)
Rep. Bill DeWeese, D-50 (Fayette, Greene and Washington Counties)
Rep. Brian Ellis, R-11 (Butler County)
Rep. Garth Everett, R-84 (Lycoming County)
Rep. Mike Fleck, R-81 (Blair, Huntingdon and Mifflin Counties)
Rep. Keith Gillespie, R-47 (York County)
Rep. Glen Grell, R-87 (Cumberland County)
Rep. Michael Hanna, D-76 (Centre and Clinton Counties)
Rep. Julie Harhart, R-183 (Lehigh and Northampton Counties)
Rep. Patrick Harkins, D-1 (Erie County)
Rep. John Hornaman, D-3 (Erie County)
Rep. Babette Josephs, D-182 (Philadelphia County)
Rep. Nick Kotik, D-45 (Allegheny County)
Rep. William Kortz D-38 (Allegheny County)
Rep. Bryan Lentz, D-161 (Delaware County)
Rep. David Levdansky, D-39 (Allegheny and Washington Counties)
Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-51 (Fayette County)
Rep. Michael McGeehan, D-173 (Philadelphia County)
Rep. Anthony Melio, D-141 (Bucks County)
Rep. Jerry Nailor, R-88 (Cumberland County)
Speaker Dennis O’Brien, R-169 (Philadelphia County)
Rep. John Pallone, D-54 (Armstrong and Westmoreland Counties)
Rep. Joseph Petrarca, D-55 (Armstrong and Westmoreland Counties)
Rep. Merle Phillips, R-108 (Northumberland and Snyder Counties)
Rep. Dave Reed, R-62 (Indiana County)
Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-153 (Montgomery County)
Rep. Curtis Sonney, R-4 (Erie County)
Rep. Katie True, R-41 (Lancaster County)
Rep. Mike Turzai, R-28 (Allegheny County)
Rep. Mike Vereb, R-150 (Montgomery County)
Rep. Randy Vulakovich, R-30 (Allegheny County)
Rep. Chelsa Wagner, D-22 (Allegheny County)
Senate
Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20 (Luzerne, Wyoming, Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe Counties)
Sen. Jake Corman, R-34 (Centre, Mifflin, Juniata, Perry and Union Counties)
Sen. Jane Earll, R-49 (Erie County)
Sen. Mike Folmer, R-48 (Lebanon, Berks, Dauphin, Chester and Lancaster Counties)
Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, R-12 (Montgomery and Bucks Counties)
Sen. Michael O’Pake, D-11 (Berks County)
Sen. Jane Orie, R-40 (Allegheny and Butler Counties)
Sen. Robert Wonderling, R-24 (Bucks, Lehigh, Montgomery and Northampton Counties)
*SOMEHOW, whether as a computer glitch or through my own fault, I managed to delete this page on Aug. 8. I have managed to recreate it through email and computer records, but would like to apologize in case you notice any differences. The glitch also deleted the comments, and I will repost them below. My apologizes to veblen, in particular, for his comment’s removal.
*This message was originally posted by the user veblen on July 26. *
Thanks for the effort. However, I am a bit confused. Specifically, what does this mean?
Have those listed gone on record of supporting all six of the components? Have they gone on record for some subset? Have they simply agreed to some general notion of strengthening the law? If these are the legislators that have signed on to all six components, are there legislators that have signed on to fewer than the six?
Also, I noticed that the legislators that have introduced legislation aren’t on the list. Why is that?
Can we get some clarification?
*This comment was originally posted by me on July 26*
My response:
Veblen - Thanks for being such an active voice on our blog!
Sorry for the confusion.
The list is strictly legislators who have responded “yes” to our calls, faxes and emails asking them if they advocate the six principles above. Because there are so many sources out there reporting on open records, we feared that if we based this list on legislative sponsorship or media reports, we would end up missing people.
We did feel that it is important to recognize the main sponsors of the bill above, but what about the co-sponsors of the bills? What about news reports? How do we find every instance of a lawmaker who’s voiced their support in the media? Because of this, we decided to base this list only on our outreach. Since it’s in the very beginning stages, we haven’t had the chance to speak to many legislators or staff yet, but decided it was important to publish so our readers know we are working on it.
If you still have questions, please let me know.
Thanks again! D.