|
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
|
State
Rep. Elisabeth ‘Lisa’ Bennington |
|
Bennington applauding House passage of open records measure
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 13 – Freshman Democratic lawmaker Lisa Bennington, D-Allegheny, said she voted in favor of a bill this week that would expand the state’s open records law to include the legislature.
Bennington said unanimous passage of the measure in the House is just the latest step in the reform movement that has swept through the Capitol this year.
The House adopted a comprehensive amendment to the legislation earlier this week that would improve the state’s open records law and place legislative records under the law for the first time, while continuing to protect constituents’ personal information, Bennington said. The amendment was added to S.B. 1.
The legislation would presume that the records of all branches of state and local government in Pennsylvania are subject to public scrutiny, unless they fall within a limited number of exceptions or are protected by other federal or state laws.
"The people elected me because I made reform one of three top campaign issues,” Bennington said. “I was firm in my support for this bill and fought for its authorization. By opening legislative records to public scrutiny this measure exceeds previous open records bills -- it is the best open records measure for the people of Pennsylvania.”
Bennington said the legislation would also create an office within the State Ethics Commission to help residents of Pennsylvania access public records and appeal the records decisions of state and local agencies.
The amended legislation has been returned to the Senate for its review.
###nr/2007/mjh
l:\print\releases\openrecordsHouse.021
|
CONTACT: Nicole Reigelman |