State contracts
New open records law puts contracts online but doesn't punish non-compliant agencies
August 31, 2008
By SEAN ADKINS
[York] Daily Record/Sunday News
A revamped Pennsylvania Right to Know Law does not call for a state agency to be penalized should it opt not to hand over contracts that would have otherwise been included in a new online public database.
State agencies are responsible for providing the information for the online database maintained by the Pennsylvania Treasury Department.
However, the department would not take any action against a state agency that does not file a contract.
And the Right to Know Law doesn't allow for a fine or any action against the state agency for not submitting most contracts to the database.
But, the Right to Know Law does state that most contracts need to be filed with the treasury department within 10 days of a document's execution date to be posted online.
"It's almost like a self-policing type of thing," Elizabeth Kupchinsky, a treasury spokeswoman, said. "If an agency does fail to submit a contract, a member of the public can file a Right to Know request with that agency (to acquire a contract)."
A method of challenge should exist if an agency ignores the law and doesn't submit a contract to be posted online, said Melissa Melewsky, media law council with the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.
"I certainly think we would have liked to have seen some teeth with this provision," she said. "But this is a law, and the law has to be followed."
New information online
On July 22, the treasury department unveiled the searchable online database that allows a public search through state contracts by entering criteria such as the name of the agency, grant amount or topic.
The database is not novel in that residents suddenly have access to never-before-released data, but rather now the public can view those contracts more quickly.
The money used to fund these state contracts comes from state taxes, fees and other charges, said Pennsylvania Treasurer Robin L. Weissmann.
"The whole point (for the Web site) is for people to know how their tax dollars are being spent," said Don Houser, chief of staff for Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre County.
Corman drafted a Senate bill in June 2007 that called for an online contracts database.
Before the creation of the online database, individuals needed to make a formal request with an agency to gain access to a specific contract, Houser said.
"It was a cumbersome process," he said.
Now, each agency is bound by the updated Right to Know Law to submit most contracts worth $5,000 or more to the treasury department, where legal documents executed on or after July 1 are posted to its Web site.
For example, the query "Northwest Triangle" turns up an Aug. 22 contract in which the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has agreed to give York's redevelopment authority a $1.05 million grant to remediate the downtown site.
The money will be used to clean up the Keystone Color Works building and the soil in York's Northwest Triangle.
About the updated law
On Feb. 14, Gov. Ed Rendell inked a revamped Right-to-Know Law that favors public access to records.
Under this law, state agencies must prove that a record is non-public or that an exemption forbids access.
While most of the provisions in the law take effect on Jan. 1, 2009, the online database went into action last month.
For the most part, the contracts are between state agencies and outside parties, Weissmann said.
Not every contract worth more than $5,000 will find its way to the site.
For example, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts will create a separate Web site for its contracts, Kupchinsky said.
Also, contracts that contain information protected by certain legal principles such as attorney-client privilege are exempt.
Submissions after six weeks
So far, more than 4,600 contracts have been uploaded, Kupchinsky said.
As of Aug. 22, 67 state agencies had submitted contracts while 47 had not, she said.
Houser said to have nearly 60 percent of agencies submitting contracts only six weeks after the launch of the site is a good sign.
"My understanding is that all agencies are moving to comply," said Terry Mutchler, executive director of Pennsylvania's new Office of Open Records.
"It is incumbent for public bodies to comply with this (law)," Mutchler said.
Agencies that have not submitted contracts might have not done so because that bureau might not have executed a deal on or after July 1, Kupchinsky said.
Melewsky said she believes state agencies will submit their contracts to be posted to the treasury department's Web site.
"There is no way to know for sure if all the contracts are up there," she said. "I think there has to be some level of trust in the government. I hope it won't be an issue. I think the state agencies will follow suit. I don't predict a problem," Melewsky said.
Houser said it's in the best interest of the state for the agencies to comply.
"We are in a nature of open records here in Pennsylvania," Houser said. "If agencies are not going to comply with this, shame on them."
[York] Daily Record/Sunday News
A revamped Pennsylvania Right to Know Law does not call for a state agency to be penalized should it opt not to hand over contracts that would have otherwise been included in a new online public database.
State agencies are responsible for providing the information for the online database maintained by the Pennsylvania Treasury Department.
However, the department would not take any action against a state agency that does not file a contract.
And the Right to Know Law doesn't allow for a fine or any action against the state agency for not submitting most contracts to the database.
But, the Right to Know Law does state that most contracts need to be filed with the treasury department within 10 days of a document's execution date to be posted online.
"It's almost like a self-policing type of thing," Elizabeth Kupchinsky, a treasury spokeswoman, said. "If an agency does fail to submit a contract, a member of the public can file a Right to Know request with that agency (to acquire a contract)."
A method of challenge should exist if an agency ignores the law and doesn't submit a contract to be posted online, said Melissa Melewsky, media law council with the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.
"I certainly think we would have liked to have seen some teeth with this provision," she said. "But this is a law, and the law has to be followed."
New information online
On July 22, the treasury department unveiled the searchable online database that allows a public search through state contracts by entering criteria such as the name of the agency, grant amount or topic.
The database is not novel in that residents suddenly have access to never-before-released data, but rather now the public can view those contracts more quickly.
The money used to fund these state contracts comes from state taxes, fees and other charges, said Pennsylvania Treasurer Robin L. Weissmann.
"The whole point (for the Web site) is for people to know how their tax dollars are being spent," said Don Houser, chief of staff for Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre County.
Corman drafted a Senate bill in June 2007 that called for an online contracts database.
Before the creation of the online database, individuals needed to make a formal request with an agency to gain access to a specific contract, Houser said.
"It was a cumbersome process," he said.
Now, each agency is bound by the updated Right to Know Law to submit most contracts worth $5,000 or more to the treasury department, where legal documents executed on or after July 1 are posted to its Web site.
For example, the query "Northwest Triangle" turns up an Aug. 22 contract in which the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has agreed to give York's redevelopment authority a $1.05 million grant to remediate the downtown site.
The money will be used to clean up the Keystone Color Works building and the soil in York's Northwest Triangle.
About the updated law
On Feb. 14, Gov. Ed Rendell inked a revamped Right-to-Know Law that favors public access to records.
Under this law, state agencies must prove that a record is non-public or that an exemption forbids access.
While most of the provisions in the law take effect on Jan. 1, 2009, the online database went into action last month.
For the most part, the contracts are between state agencies and outside parties, Weissmann said.
Not every contract worth more than $5,000 will find its way to the site.
For example, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts will create a separate Web site for its contracts, Kupchinsky said.
Also, contracts that contain information protected by certain legal principles such as attorney-client privilege are exempt.
Submissions after six weeks
So far, more than 4,600 contracts have been uploaded, Kupchinsky said.
As of Aug. 22, 67 state agencies had submitted contracts while 47 had not, she said.
Houser said to have nearly 60 percent of agencies submitting contracts only six weeks after the launch of the site is a good sign.
"My understanding is that all agencies are moving to comply," said Terry Mutchler, executive director of Pennsylvania's new Office of Open Records.
"It is incumbent for public bodies to comply with this (law)," Mutchler said.
Agencies that have not submitted contracts might have not done so because that bureau might not have executed a deal on or after July 1, Kupchinsky said.
Melewsky said she believes state agencies will submit their contracts to be posted to the treasury department's Web site.
"There is no way to know for sure if all the contracts are up there," she said. "I think there has to be some level of trust in the government. I hope it won't be an issue. I think the state agencies will follow suit. I don't predict a problem," Melewsky said.
Houser said it's in the best interest of the state for the agencies to comply.
"We are in a nature of open records here in Pennsylvania," Houser said. "If agencies are not going to comply with this, shame on them."
AT A GLANCE
- The database: On July 22, the Pennsylvania Treasury Department launched a free online database of state contracts that allows site visitors to review the documents that had been previously available through formal requests.
- The contracts: According to Pennsylvania's updated Right to Know Law, state agencies have 10 days to file their contracts with treasury department. The department then posts the information to its site. Contracts uploaded to the treasury department's site are worth more than $5,000 and have been executed on or after July 1. So far, state agencies have posted more than 4,600 contracts to the site.
- What we found: The Right to Know Law doesn't include a provision to penalize an agency for not filing a contract with the treasury department to be posted online.
- On the Web: To use the database, go to http://contracts.patreasury.org/search.aspx. Once at the site, you can search by agency, contracting party, date or the amount of the contract.
