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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Greg Vitali |
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Keeping e-mails private: critical to public officials’ job
By state Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Delaware
I would like to respond to the editorial appearing in Sunday’s Inquirer entitled “Keep e-mail o-p-e-n.” This editorial criticized my position on excluding e-mails from the definition of public records in the Open Records legislation currently being considered by the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
First, the title of the editorial implies that e-mails currently are considered public records in Pennsylvania -- they are not. In fact, only six states have laws specifically designating e-mails as public records
Few people today think that, absent a court order, phone conversations -- even though paid for by tax dollars -- should be subject to monitoring. I believe the same thinking should apply to e-mails. E-mails are a quick and efficient form of communication which have, to some degree, become a substitute for phone calls and, whether justified or not, many people have an expectation of privacy in their e-mail correspondence.
Making e-mails subject to public scrutiny will dampen the use of this efficient means of communication. Categories of people who will be discouraged from using e-mail will include: whistleblowers; constituents with embarrassing personal problems; public officials seeking information from controversial groups; public officials and issue advocates communicating negotiations, tactics and strategies; and public officials making frank but unflattering assessments of colleagues and employees.
Even if the e-mails subject to public scrutiny are restricted by content (i.e. expenditure of public funds) there will still need to be a review by a person or group of persons of all of the e-mail of the public official to ascertain if any of his e-mails meet the content requirement. It is this review that will dampen the use of e-mails.
Don’t forget that e-mails are already subject to review in Pennsylvania pursuant to a court order.
And finally, most of the information the public wants to access by Open Records legislation is not the type found in e-mails (e.g., contract applications, expenditure records, safety reports, etc.).
The public’s right to know must be tempered by a constituent’s right to privacy and the public official’s need to have an environment in which he can do an effective job.
Rep. Greg Vitali (www.pahouse.com/Vitali) represents the 166th Legislative District.
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CONTACT: Mike Storm |