Office of Open Records

Experts in favor of public access

The public should have access to the inner workings of Luzerne County home rule subcommittees, say three experts on the state’s open meeting law. Unwarranted closed-door meetings “fracture public trust,” said Terry Mutchler, executive director of the state’s Office of Open Records. “I think Luzerne County has to have a particular sensitivity to the perception of how its government operates, given the very horrific and sad nature of events that have occurred there in the juvenile justice system,” Mutchler said.
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Counties to appeal denied CareerLink records

HARRISBURG - The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records (OOR) would have to perform a legal analysis on the Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corp. (CPWDC) before determining whether it is subject to the Right to Know law, the executive director of OOR said Tuesday. However, added Terry Mutchler, "all signals" point to the organization being a public entity. Commissioners in Northumberland and Snyder counties are seeking budgetary information from the CPWDC board, which voted last month to consolidate the Shamokin and Selinsgrove CareerLinks into one centralized location in Sunbury.
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Pa. teachers' union loses address privacy case

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania appeals court on Friday threw out a lawsuit filed by the state's largest teachers' union that sought to prevent public disclosure of public school employees' home addresses. Commonwealth Court ruled against the Pennsylvania State Education Association, which sued the state Office of Open Records to keep it from ordering the release of the addresses under the state's Right-to-Know Law. Read More...

Judge bars release of county official's e-mails

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania courts' broad exemption from the Right-to-Know Law shields judicial records from public scrutiny even when they are in the hands of agencies that are subject to the law, a three-judge panel of the state Commonwealth Court has ruled. Read More...

Court ruling broadens open record exemption for courts

In a precedent-setting ruling handed down Wednesday by Commonwealth Court, records of ancillary offices to the state's court system have been found exempt from the 2009 Right to Know Law. Addressing whether The Times-Tribune and others were entitled to Lackawanna County records for its Department of Domestic Relations, the court ruled the county and state Office of Open Records were permanently barred from making the information public. Read More...

Lackawanna County stadium naming contract must be made public, state says

A naming-rights agreement for the county-owned baseball stadium is public record and must be turned over to The Times-Tribune, the state Office of Open Records has ruled. Read More...

Panel provides insight into Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Law

Four panelists gave insight on the first year of the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law during a symposium in the HUB Ohio room at 7 p.m. March 31. The event came after Sunshine Week, which celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Right to Know Law, which is a type of Sunshine law, meant to give open access to public documents.
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Office of Open Records requests higher funding

The head of Pennsylvania’s Office of Open Records spoke before the House Appropriations Committee today to requesting more tax funds than proposed in the Governor’s budget due to the high number of appeals filed by agencies contesting the release of information, and the additional lawyers the Office requires to handle these cases. Read More...

Court says government must prove need to keep information secret

A state appeals court's first ruling on the new Right to Know Law upholds the idea that government agencies must prove they have a good reason for withholding information, lawyers and others said yesterday. "It's a strong decision for open government," said Barry Fox, spokesman for the state Office of Open Records. Read More...

Allentown sues Morning Call, reporter, open records office

Allentown is suing The Morning Call, reporter Jarrett Renshaw and the state Office of Open Records, claiming the agency improperly ruled on Renshaw's request under the year-old Right-to-Know Law for the official e-mails and schedules of Mayor Ed Pawlowski and other administration officials. Read More...

Judge rules to release names as sewer records fight ends after 8 months

An eight-month fight over the identities of Sharon sewer customers who collectively owe about $1 million in unpaid bills ended Tuesday with a judge agreeing with the state Office of Open Records and ordering the records be released. Read More...

WGAL-TV appeals ruling barring it from information on college student's death

A midstate TV station is appealing a Cumberland County judge’s ruling barring it from information on a Shippensburg University student’s death. Read More...

Bucks County appeals state Office of Open Records decision

Bucks County officials do not believe the record of when two employees – opponents in a county election – entered the courthouse each day should be a matter of public information. Read More...

Beaver Co. Times' open records appeal upheld

The state Office of Open Records this week upheld an appeal by The Beaver County Times of a fee imposed by the State Employees Retirement System for providing information under Pennsylvania’s open-records law. Read More...

Allentown fights open records ruling

Allentown officials are appealing an administrative ruling ordering the city to provide the e-mails and records of daily schedules for Mayor Ed Pawlowski and two Cabinet members to a reporter from The Morning Call. Read More...