DeWeese signs open records bill
HARRISBURG – More than a month after its introduction, House Democratic Leader Bill DeWeese has signed onto an open records bill that would give the public expanded powers to view state government spending.
DeWeese, of Greene County, announced his support late Tuesday for the open records legislation developed by neighboring Rep. Tim Mahoney, a Fayette County Democrat. In a press release, DeWeese said he’s cosponsoring Mahoney’s bill because, “It’s time that we revisit Pennsylvania’s open records law so that the public has easier access to state information.”
DeWeese’s support comes as part of a gathering political momentum behind overhauling the state’s meager open records law. Gov. Ed Rendell joined the cause with a proposal he announced last month and Senate Republican Leader Dominic Pileggi, of Delaware County, introduced a bill late last week.
“We do feel optimistic,” said Deborah Musselman, director of government affairs for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, a main backer of expanded open records. “We feel there’s interest and general acknowledgment that the law needs to be improved. It looks like it’s reached a critical mass.”
Pennsylvania is known for having one of the worst open records laws in the nation. It excludes the state Legislature, the Judiciary, and state-related universities from making financial records public.
DeWeese initially declined to sign onto the Mahoney legislation, which was introduced in late February with nearly 50 cosponsors. Mahoney said he’s been working on DeWeese since then to garner his support. DeWeese was unavailable for comment.
“I think Bill is starting to show a lot of real leadership as far as helping put a lot more teeth into this bill,” said Mahoney. “I’m sure there will be a lot more who jump on now.”
DeWeese, in his press release, said he would designate an entire day with the House Democratic caucus in the next several months to discuss the bill and competing open records proposals. Caucus meetings are normally held behind closed doors.
Tim Potts, co-founder of Democracy Rising PA, said it is ironic that open records legislation would be discussed in private.
“They’re going to have a discussion about openness in secret,” said Potts.
He said it would be better if the governor, Pileggi and Mahoney sat down at a public hearing and thrashed out the differences on their proposals.
Mahoney’s bill has been assigned to the House State Government Committee, but it has not been scheduled for a public hearing yet, Mahoney said.
While they all expand the public’s right to review how tax dollars are spent, the three proposals have some key differences. Pileggi’s keeps an existing legal presumption that spending records are private unless explicitly noted in the law. Mahoney’s and Rendell’s proposals turn the tables on presumption by giving the public a basic legal right to all documents, with certain exceptions for government agencies. Under such a scenario, supported by reform activists and the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, state agencies would have to prove to the requester why a document should remain secret.
All three proposals set up an open records clearinghouse where the public may appeal a denied request with an intent to cut down on the number of lawsuits.
Musselman said the presumption issue will be a key part of the open records debate, as well as which exemptions get carved out of the definition of an “open record.”
“There are a lot of things that are not public … that frankly don’t seem appropriate to ask for, like people’s personal information, Social Security numbers, and security,” she said. “There’s been a lot of attention paid to public safety since 9-11.”
Musselman said she would like to see entirely new case law developed on open records, which would happen if the presumption of openness was tilted in the public’s favor.
Said Mahoney: “If we’re going to crack the coconut, we gotta crack it wide open.”
Activists are hoping for open records legislation to become law by the beginning of summer recess in July. That will depend on the emphasis that leaders like DeWeese place on the issue.
Pileggi’s bill is expected to come before a public hearing as early as late April with an aim for a Senate vote in late May, said his Spokesman Erik Arneson.
Open records would be the first major reform change in state law since lobbyist disclosure legislation was adopted in late 2006.
“The question is not whether [DeWeese’s] name is on it but whether his heart is in it,” said Potts.
Alison Hawkes can be reached at 717-705-6330 or ahawkes@calkins-media.com