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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT:
Roseann R. Cadau |
State Rep. Tim Mahoney |
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Mahoney wins battle for public to have access to state records
HARRISBURG, June 12 – State Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Fayette, said he is pleased that the public may soon be able to review reports and financial records for elected officials in municipal, county and state government.
The House Speaker’s Commission on Legislative Reform today unanimously recommended reforms that would make government records more accessible to the public than ever before. The commission recommended that all government records, including those of the state legislature, be considered open to the public except in limited circumstances, such as e-mails between employees or individual constituent case records. The commission also recommended that an appeals process be set up for residents that are denied access to public records.
Shortly after being sworn into office, Mahoney introduced legislation that would give residents more access to officials’ public records and create a new state agency to help the public access those records.
“With the combination of my open-records bill and the reform commission's recommendations, I think we’ll come up with a good-open records law that Pennsylvania needs and deserves,” Mahoney said.
The commission, comprised of 24 Democratic and Republican House members, will offer its final report to the legislature soon.
Mahoney said the legislature will consider the reform recommendations the commission has made.
“The taxpayers of Pennsylvania have won this round; based on the reform commission's unanimous support of this recommendation, it looks like government records may soon be more open to the public and that the people of Pennsylvania will know where and how their tax dollars are being spent,” Mahoney stated.
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Attention Radio News Directors: an actuality from Rep. Mahoney is available by calling 1-800-452-3001. Enter PA51 (7-2-51) and the pound sign (#) at the menu prompt to get today’s sound. You can also download the sound in .mp3 format by visiting www.pahouse.com/mediacenter.