Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, prime sponsor of the 2008 Right to Know Law, has responded to concerns raised by newspapers and others regarding Senate Bill 1469. That bill, which passed the Senate with no negative votes this month, would have amended the Right to Know Law to restrict access to government contractor records, charge the public for viewing a public record, and expand access to 911 time response logs and drafts considered at public meetings, among other things. Senator Pileggi intends to introduce a new bill in January and promises a public, methodical approach to amending the Law. Read More…

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. Read More…

Here we go again: bills to amend the 2008 Right to Know Law are again on the move in our state capitol, just a few weeks before the November election, and after a one-year lull in any work on open records legislation. In the Senate, the new law's sponsor, Sen. Pileggi, is now sponsoring Senate Bill 1469, a bill that would exempt volunteer fire and rescue companies, significantly cut back on the records available from government contractors, prevent the public from viewing bills from sewer and other public authorities, and charge a member of the public just to look at a public record. Just introduced on September 20, it moved quickly, and is scheduled for a Senate vote today. Read More…

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A bill approved Wednesday by the state Senate would make numerous changes to the Right-to-Know Law, including one that would allow a local agency to charge a per-page fee to someone reviewing a public record. The Senate voted unanimously without debate to send the 19-page bill to the House.
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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Proposed revisions to Pennsylvania's 2-year-old Right-to-Know Law - with provisions that would expand access to some government records and restrict it for others - passed a legislative committee unanimously Wednesday and could get a full Senate vote next week. Read More…