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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Tim Mahoney |
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House passes Mahoney open records legislation
HARRISBURG, Dec. 12 – State Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Fayette, said he is pleased that the Pennsylvania House of Representatives has unanimously passed a Senate bill that includes language introduced by Mahoney that would drastically improve Pennsylvania’s Open Records Law. Mahoney successfully amended the bill in the House on Monday.
Shortly after taking office, Mahoney spearheaded an effort to pass open records legislation. The measure is intended to give residents more access to government records and to create an agency to help the public access those records.
“After months of negotiations, the House was successful in passing an open records bill that we can be proud of,” Mahoney said. “This is a people’s bill because our taxpayers would be able to get information on where their tax dollars are being spent.”
The Mahoney-amended proposal would exempt fewer documents and impose stricter enforcement provisions than the original Senate bill. It would also place a presumption in state law that the records of all branches of government at the state and local level are public, unless specifically exempted in another state or federal law.
The legislation also would create an office within the State Ethics Commission to help residents of Pennsylvania access public records and appeal the open records decisions of state and local agencies.
In June, the House Speaker’s Commission on Legislative Reform unanimously recommended 33 legislative reforms, including Mahoney’s proposal that state and local records should be presumed open to public review. Mahoney is the lone freshman Democrat on the reform commission.
The House has sent the bill back to the Senate for concurrence.
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CONTACT: Roseann R. Cadau |