Aug 8, 2023 By Mike Jones newsroom@heraldstandard.Com 5 min read

The state Office of Open Records has denied a request from the Observer-Reporter asking that Washington County officials be required to release the list of names that Prothonotary Laura Hough searched in a background check database.

A hearing officer on Tuesday rejected the newspaper’s appeal requesting information on the two dozen local people searched by Hough after determining that the county showed the records were part of a noncriminal investigation into the prothonotary’s actions, and are therefore exempt from the state’s Right-To-Know Law.

A letter sent from Washington County officials to Hough on Dec. 6 notified her that they had become aware she used the county’s LexisNexis account to search various people, including “prominent political figures” for what they determined were illegitimate reasons. The letter identified several people Hough searched, including Commissioners Diana Irey Vaughan, Nick Sherman and Larry Maggi, along with her prothonotary office’s attorney, Sean Logue, and former county chief of staff John Haynes. It was also revealed that Hough searched information for Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Lawrence Tabas, although the full list of names has never been made public.

Hough was apparently granted access to the LexisNexis database in the summer of 2020 to search for addresses of people involved in civil court cases to assist her in sending filings to the parties involved. However, her access was terminated late last year when county officials learned she was using the database for purposes beyond the scope of address searches. It’s not known what Hough searched in the database, which can be used to locate a litany of personal information on people.

The newspaper filed its open records request with the county on May 1 after Hough’s use of the database was publicly revealed in late April. The county denied the request on May 5, prompting the newspaper to appeal the decision to the Office of Open Records.

In its appeal, the newspaper argued that “there is a great public interest and a need for transparency” and that the county should release the records to “stop the spread of misinformation in the community” with the number of local residents questioning whether they were on Hough’s search list.

In its response, county officials included an affidavit from then finance director Joshua Hatfield, who wrote that a non-criminal investigation was opened after he discovered the “improper access” by Hough using the LexisNexis account late last year.

“The noncriminal investigation involves suspected improper use of a third-party software by a County official which involves suspected misuse of County property and a suspected misuse of County funds,” Hatfield wrote in the affidavit.

While county officials said in their May 19 filing that the noncriminal investigation is ongoing, it’s not known whether it still remains open or has been closed. Hatfield left his position as finance director in late June.

The newspaper also argued that the names searched by Hough are “already known by the county and are purely factual, not investigatory in nature, nor are they the results of any potential investigation.”

Solicitor Jana Grimm called the newspaper’s argument “nonsensical and irrelevant” while providing previous rulings that showed information involving noncriminal investigations do not need to be released to the public. She also noted only two residents had filed Right-To-Know requests with the county asking if their names had been searched.

The Observer-Reporter does not plan to appeal the ruling to the Washington County Court of Common Pleas.

Melissa Melewsky, an attorney with the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said the broad exemption in the open records law for noncriminal investigative matters are problematic for advocates of transparency and government accountability.

“The decision is not surprising on its finding related to the noncriminal investigation exemption, but it does illustrate how that exemption interferes with the public’s ability to understand government action and hold public officials accountable,” Melewsky said. “The noncriminal investigation exemption is one of the broadest exemptions in the RTKL, and creates significant barriers to access that should be addressed legislatively.”

She added that the county could voluntarily “choose to release the information if they determined it served the public interest.”

Washington County officials previously said they planned to set up a “mechanism” for people to learn whether they were searched by Hough. However, Irey Vaughan said they received so little interest from residents after the search history was made public in the spring that they decided against implementing a formal process.

Irey Vaughan said Tuesday that residents who are concerned that they were searched can contact the county commissioners office at 724-228-6724 to inquire if they’re on the list, or they can email her directly at IreyDL@co.washington.pa.us.

“If they call in, we’ll be happy to provide them with an answer,” Irey Vaughan said. “We received only a handful of inquiries since the info was made public.”

Hough, who is a Republican in her first term as prothonotary, is running for reelection in the Nov. 7 general election against Democrat Sandy Sabot.