Office of Open Records
Experts in favor of public access
January 08, 2011 |
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
December 08, 2010 |
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
September 24, 2010 |
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
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Judge bars release of county official's e-mails
August 13, 2010 |
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
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Court ruling broadens open record exemption for courts
August 12, 2010 |
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
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Lackawanna County stadium naming contract must be made public, state says
April 20, 2010 |
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
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Panel provides insight into Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Law
April 09, 2010 |
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
February 18, 2010 |
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
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Court says government must prove need to keep information secret
February 09, 2010 |
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.
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Allentown sues Morning Call, reporter, open records office
January 27, 2010 |
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
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Judge rules to release names as sewer records fight ends after 8 months
January 27, 2010 |
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.
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WGAL-TV appeals ruling barring it from information on college student's death
January 26, 2010 |
A midstate TV station is appealing a Cumberland
County judge’s ruling barring it from information
on a Shippensburg University student’s death.
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Bucks County appeals state Office of Open Records decision
January 23, 2010 |
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
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Beaver Co. Times' open records appeal upheld
January 13, 2010 |
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
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Allentown fights open records ruling
January 10, 2010 |
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.
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