Rulings keep secret Pa. lawmaker-lobbyist contacts
By MARK SCOLFORO | Associated Press Writer
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Appeals officers for both chambers of the Pennsylvania Legislature said Tuesday the new Right-to-Know Law does not give the public the right to review correspondence between lawmakers and lobbyists.
The House and Senate on Tuesday rejected requests by The Associated Press for communications last year between registered lobbyists and the four floor leaders: Sen. Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware; Sen. Bob Mellow, D-Lackawanna; Rep. Bill DeWeese, D-Greene; and Rep. Sam Smith, R-Jefferson.
The caucuses denied the requests last month. The AP then appealed to House Parliamentarian Reizdan Moore and Senate Secretary Mark Corrigan, the designated House and Senate appeals officers.
Moore and Corrigan said lobbyist communications are not covered by the law's definition of the types of "legislative records" the public can get.
The AP had argued access should be allowed. An exception to the law says the public cannot get correspondence between the General Assembly and their constituents, but the AP said that does not apply to correspondence between lawmakers and lobbyists.
Moore and Corrigan said if a record does not fit the legislative record definition in the first place, the exceptions do not apply.
"Nowhere in (the) list of accessible legislative records is found the mention of correspondence between members of the Senate and registered lobbyists," Corrigan wrote. "It would seem clear and unambiguous that it was not the intention of the General Assembly to make such a general class of records into accessible legislative records."
The 19 items listed in the law as legislative records generally pertain to finances or provide documentation of the chamber's meetings and decisions.
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association lawyer Teri Henning said she generally agreed with the appeals officers' analysis.
If legislator-lawmaker communications amount to financial records, they would be available, as would legislator-lawmaker communications in the hands of local agencies or the state's executive branch agencies, which are presumptively public, she said.
The AP is not appealing the decisions to state Commonwealth Court.
The four appeals were the first to be handled by the House and Senate under the process established by the Right-to-Know Law that took effect Jan. 1.
DeWeese was replaced as Democratic floor leader this year by Rep. Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne.
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On the Net:
House records requests
Senate records requests
© 2009 The Associated Press – Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Appeals officers for both chambers of the Pennsylvania Legislature said Tuesday the new Right-to-Know Law does not give the public the right to review correspondence between lawmakers and lobbyists.
The House and Senate on Tuesday rejected requests by The Associated Press for communications last year between registered lobbyists and the four floor leaders: Sen. Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware; Sen. Bob Mellow, D-Lackawanna; Rep. Bill DeWeese, D-Greene; and Rep. Sam Smith, R-Jefferson.
The caucuses denied the requests last month. The AP then appealed to House Parliamentarian Reizdan Moore and Senate Secretary Mark Corrigan, the designated House and Senate appeals officers.
Moore and Corrigan said lobbyist communications are not covered by the law's definition of the types of "legislative records" the public can get.
The AP had argued access should be allowed. An exception to the law says the public cannot get correspondence between the General Assembly and their constituents, but the AP said that does not apply to correspondence between lawmakers and lobbyists.
Moore and Corrigan said if a record does not fit the legislative record definition in the first place, the exceptions do not apply.
"Nowhere in (the) list of accessible legislative records is found the mention of correspondence between members of the Senate and registered lobbyists," Corrigan wrote. "It would seem clear and unambiguous that it was not the intention of the General Assembly to make such a general class of records into accessible legislative records."
The 19 items listed in the law as legislative records generally pertain to finances or provide documentation of the chamber's meetings and decisions.
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association lawyer Teri Henning said she generally agreed with the appeals officers' analysis.
If legislator-lawmaker communications amount to financial records, they would be available, as would legislator-lawmaker communications in the hands of local agencies or the state's executive branch agencies, which are presumptively public, she said.
The AP is not appealing the decisions to state Commonwealth Court.
The four appeals were the first to be handled by the House and Senate under the process established by the Right-to-Know Law that took effect Jan. 1.
DeWeese was replaced as Democratic floor leader this year by Rep. Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne.
___
On the Net:
House records requests
Senate records requests
© 2009 The Associated Press – Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
