Click here to add text.Pennsylvanians have a new right to know.
PePennsylvanians have a new right to know.
Pennsylvania has a new open-records law which greatly expands public access to a wide array of government records.
The new law accomplishes three major things:
■ For the first time, establishes that all records kept by local and state government are presumed to be open to the public, with some exceptions. No longer is access restricted to just “accounts, vouchers or contracts” or “minutes, orders or decisions.”
■For the first time, puts the burden of proving why a record should not be released on government agencies. No longer do citizens who are denied records have to prove why they should have them.
■ For the first time, there is an independent agency charged with arbitrating open records disputes. No longer do citizens have to go to court when they feel their request has been unjustly denied. The state’s new Office of Open Records, under the direction of executive director Terry Mutchler, will hear appeals and issue rulings when there are disputes.
And, although the new law went into effect Jan. 1, 2009, records from any year were newly available as of that date.
