Some Officials Not Following Open Records Law

From WGAL-TV

Some Officials Not Following Open Records Law
Legislation Allows Citizens To Request Information From Any State Agency

POSTED: 5:47 pm EDT April 14, 2009
UPDATED: 9:19 am EDT April 15, 2009

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- The state's new open records law is designed to help citizens better understand how government works in Pennsylvania, and in many ways it is working. But some officials are still going out of their way to keep information from the public.

Nearly every day, the public can take a tour of the state Capitol building to learn about its architecture and history. But there is a lot that goes on in the Capitol that Pennsylvania residents never hear about. That's where Terry Mutchler comes in.

"There are public officials that view the Right To Know law as a nuisance," said Mutchler.

Mutchler is executive director of the state's newly created Office of Open Records, which is tucked away in a corner of the Keystone office building in Harrisburg. She said the law has only been in effect for a few months, but that hasn't stopped some public agencies from misusing it.

"I will sometimes hear from public officials who are following the letter of the law and the spirit of the law," said Mutchler. "But I'll also hear from folks who say they'll hide their Right To Know officer so they can never receive a Right To Know request," said Mutchler.

The law allows anyone to request information from any government agency in the state, from local municipalities all the way to the governor's office.

Agencies Must Copy, Mail Records

A recent dispute involved whether government agencies are required to make copies and mail records that are requested. Some have refused to do so.

"When the law talks about postage and photo copiers, the intent is that you do, as a government official, have the obligation to photocopy and mail records," said Mutchler.

She said workers in state agencies were also recently directed by the governor's office not to answer her calls because they felt requests from her office should be handled in writing. Mutchler said her office has been busy handling these types of concerns.

"Now that we have open government, we actually have a lot of work to do within that framework to see the actual results," said Mutchler. "I think there has to be a better balance struck."

A balance that, she said, would make open government in Pennsylvania a priority.

Open Records Resources

* For a "citizen's guide" with information about how to use the law, go to:
https://www.dced.state.pa.us/public/oor/rtkcitizensguidefinal.pdf

For a link to a generic form needed to file a request, go to:
https://www.dced.state.pa.us/public/oor/Form-Uniform_Request.pdf

For a list of open records contacts in local government agencies across the state, go to:
https://www.dced.state.pa.us/public/oor/orolist.pdf

For a list of open records contacts in state agencies, go to:
https://www.dced.state.pa.us/public/oor/aoroList.pdf

For a list of open records contacts in school districts, go to:
https://www.dced.state.pa.us/public/oor/orolist_sd.pdf