WASHINGTON: ‘RIGHT-TO-KNOW’ BILL IS A POSITIVE STEP FOR PA

            HARRISBURG, February 12: State Sen. LeAnna Washington (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) today praised the Senate’s unanimous passage of legislation that would give the public greater and more timely access to government records.

“Pennsylvania’s open records law went unchanged for far too long,” Washington said. “Today, the Senate took a positive step toward improving the people’s access to public records, and a positive step toward good government policy.”

The “Right-to-Know” legislation (Senate Bill 1) creates new access to government records. It retains strong language that provides easier access to a wider range of government records and contracts.

The bill also gives citizens new appeal rights and imposes tougher penalties against officials that wrongly withhold public records.

Most records would be presumed to be open, accessible, available and reviewable under the legislation. It also clarifies the documents that remain confidential while specifying that other information is public.

The Senate unanimously approved the legislation on Jan. 30. After adding some clarifying technical amendments, the House of Representatives unanimously approved it on Feb. 6. With today’s Senate approval, the bill now moves to Gov. Ed Rendell’s desk.