Open Records Reform Is A Joke
The effort to reform our pitiful open records laws has become an embarrassment. Pennsylvania already has one of the weakest laws in the country and this new effort was gutted, hung out to dry and is now rotting in the sun. From the Election Reform Network:
Since last November there has been a refreshing breeze from Harrisburg with both parties vowing to open up government and institute meaningful reforms. While the jury may be still out on where this is all going, the odor seems to have turned rancid of late at the state capitol with the gutting of sensible legislation that would finally bring Pennsylvania into the mainstream of citizen-friendly state government with a much-improved Open Records or “Right to Know” law.
In Pennsylvania, the current “Right to Know” law provides anything but. It is riddled with exemptions, including – would you believe? - the entire state legislature. The good news is that there has been a major push to fix the law so that its actual provisions fit its comforting title. Unfortunately, that effort is about to be derailed as soon as tomorrow after a series of 11th hour amendments to the original reform proposal in the House State Government Committee. You can read the original and watered down bills here.
Open records, not the most glamorous of issues, is one of those that that reflects hugely on the culture of government and the ability of rank-and-file citizens – not just insiders with gold-plated checkbooks – to find out what their elected leaders and other officials are up to. If you’ve ever tried to do some basic research on, say, where some tax dollars are going and whether there’s any tangible public benefit return on them, then you know accessing the most basic information can feel like an endless grope in the dark. Citizenship, after all, isn’t supposed to be a full-time job. You’d think that in a democracy there would be a basic presumption of open access to documents of government actions and processes and that it would be boldly inscribed in our constitution and laws. Well, you’d be wrong.
What it boils down to is that the current version is a great disappointment and we need to urge our representatives to find some backbone and restore the original version of HB 443. What is striking about either bill is that no matter what your priority issue – election reform, poverty, health care, the environment, or even “getting government off of our backs” – this bill is all about it. It’s about the capacity of citizens to rule by overseeing their government through checking the record. Minutia it is, of the most important kind.
But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what Pennsylvania Common Cause has to say:
“The Open Records bill, as it stands now, is merely pretend reform for Pennsylvania. Among some of the worst offenses:
• The independent Office of Public
Records bill would not have oversight over the legislature, state attorney
general, auditor general or treasurer.
• The governor, not the Ethics Commission, would appoint the director of
the oversight office - creating potential conflicts of interest.
• Agencies would be permitted to outsource research, which would be exempt
from public disclosure.
• Penalties for public officials who violate the law would be paid by tax
dollars instead of the guilty party.”
Pennsylvania needs a strong open records law. Tell your state representative to stand up for real reform. Use this easy Common Cause link with a powerful and clear message, or consider contacting your representative immediately by phone. Find their phone number here.
The vote, unfortunately, is likely to be tomorrow. Send a message immediately to the Pennsylvania House that “pretend reform” doesn’t cut it in 2007. Restore HB 443.
Steve Strahs
ELECTION REFORM NETWORK
“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
- Tom Paine
The Philadelphia public forum on Open Records will be held Monday, Nov. 26 at the National Constitution Center.
Details are still being worked out (such as the time), but will be posted on our website as soon as they are known.
ALSO:
Please take a moment (OK, it may take you MORE than a moment) to read through the latest versions of the two Open Records bills currently in play in Harrisburg: SB1 and HB443.
Links to both amended bills, plus a summary of SB1, are located on our homepage on the left under Latest Legislation. www.pafoic.org
If you care about keeping government open in Pennsylvania:
• Get in touch with your state senator and state representative SOON and let them know how you feel about these proposals. They need to hear from their constituents.
• Log on to the PaFOIC Forum and share your thoughts on a new thread started on the Open Discussion board called SB1 and HB443 AMENDMENTS:
http://openrecordspa.org/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1193091640
The PaFOIC will be writing an op-ed column on the issue, and we welcome your input.
Also, having YOUR thoughts posted on our forum gives us a very public way to share what citizens think about the latest amended versions of the reform bills.
Thank you!
Kim de Bourbon
Executive Director
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Pa. Freedom of Information Coalition
www.openrecordspa.org
Posted by: dl | October 23, 2007 at 07:01 PM