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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT:
Roseann R. Cadau |
State Rep. Tim Mahoney |
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Mahoney open records bill highlighted at
State Government Committee hearing
HARRISBURG, Aug. 7 – State Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Fayette, testified at a House State Government Committee hearing today on his open records legislation, which is designed to give residents of Pennsylvania better access to the records of state and local government.
In June, the House Speaker’s Commission on Legislative Reform unanimously recommended reforms, including Mahoney’s proposal (H.B. 443), that would have state law presume that all state and local government records, including those of the state legislature, are open to the public, with few exceptions. The commission also recommended that an appeals process be set up for residents that are denied access to public records.
The Fayette County lawmaker is the only Democratic freshman legislator on the reform commission.
“The people of Pennsylvania are entitled to have better access to public records,” Mahoney said. “For far too long, taxpayers have been shunned when they are trying to find out where and how their tax dollars are being spent. I plan to change that procedure so that our citizens can obtain government records much easier than they have in the past.”
The new state agency that would be created under Mahoney’s legislation, the Commonwealth Office of Access to Public Records, would serve as a conduit to help people gain access to public records from local and state government officials and agencies.
Mahoney said he is confident that his open records bill will be considered by the full House when the legislature returns to session this fall.
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