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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Matt Smith |
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Smith calls Open Records reform bill a success
HARRISBURG, Feb. 12 - State Rep. Matt Smith, D-Allegheny, said the House and Senate are poised to passed legislation that would improve Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law and make state and local government more open and accountable to the public.
On Monday, the House passed an amended version of the open records bill (S.B. 1) and sent it back to the Senate. The Senate was expected to agree today to the House changes that were made and send the bill to the governor.
The legislation would, for the first time in state history, subject the legislature's documents and financial records to the Right-To-Know law. The bill would also flip the law's current presumption that government records are closed and instead require the state to prove that a record should be confidential rather than forcing the public to prove it should be made available.
As a freshman lawmaker working to reform the General Assembly, Smith said he is particularly proud that the bill would open up the legislature's records.
"An effective Open Records law is imperative to keeping government accountable to the public," he said. "The legislature it is not above the law, and the public ought to have every right to scrutinize its operations. This bill would provide unprecedented public access to state and local government records, finally opening up a new era of government accountability in this Commonwealth."
The measure would require all agencies, including the legislature, to appoint an open-records officer to receive and respond to records requests in a timely manner. The bill also would set up an office in the Department of Community and Economic Development to assist residents with records requests and to establish a uniform system of appeals for residents whose requests are denied.
Smith said the bill would still protect the personal indentifying information of people, such as their Social Security numbers, birth dates and personal financial information, from public access, and residents' private correspondence with legislators would still be protected.
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CONTACT: Mike Storm |