OPINION

By Deborah L. Musselman
Director of Government Affairs
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association

When the House went into its election recess Wednesday (Oct. 6), it left a number of bills that PNA opposes in committee. Since the passage of Act 3, the Right to Know Law, numerous bills have been introduced to carve out more exceptions from the presumption of access in both chambers, and although none have passed the House, three proposals passed the Senate – all without debate, and with less than a handful of negative votes among them.

Here’s a quick review of this session’s most significant efforts to close certain public records:

• House Bill 1667, restricting access to home addresses and birth dates, is in the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Bill 1469 is in the House State Government committee.
  ▪ Senate Bill 851, introduced by Senator Pileggi, is still in the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness. This bill would amend the volunteer ambulance Service Grant Act to exempt volunteer service organizations from the Right to Know Law.
  ▪ Finally, Senate Bill 1091, amending the Coroner’s Act to prohibit access to autopsy records, is still in the House Local Government Committee. House Committee Chairman Robert Freeman established a dialogue with PNA and the bill’s advocates to address coroners’ accountability obligations to the public.
• 
  

Those promoting House Bill 1667 and similar proposals assert concerns about privacy and personal safety, and ignore a broad body of other specific law making this information public. Of course, the information is also widely available, now, in the public domain and even online. A privacy argument, “family sensitivities,” is the rationale used by the coroners as well. Have you talked to your elected officials – especially any House or Senate candidates in contested elections
– about these issues? Let them know you expect serious thought and discussion. There are genuine reasons why this information is and must remain public. It's our job, and yours, not to let public officials lose sight of that.

Majority Leader Todd Eachus made brief farewell remarks on Wednesday, noting that a number of big issues remain unresolved - the gas tax, House-passed pension smoothing bill, and the Senate’s desired independent fiscal office. The Senate still has three session days scheduled on Oct. 12 to 14, which will be its last voting week this session. It might be difficult to get much done in that time, but we do expect more work to get done after the election.

Whatever happens, we’ll be up there with our ears to the ground, keeping a close watch on all the bills, talking and defending our issues.

---

The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association advocates to improve government access.