Feb 3, 2008 By State Rep. Bill Deweese 4 min read

I recently dropped my libel lawsuit against the Herald-Standard, and we resolved our differences about the newspaper’s coverage of my support for an open-records law. Over the last few years, I have come to appreciate that the Herald-Standard and I have a great deal in common in the passion we share for the best interests of southwestern Pennsylvania, and I decided that we should focus on our areas of agreement rather than on any differences we might have about strategy or tactics. My work on a stronger open-records law is a prime example of how the healthy dialogue in which I have participated with the paper over the last few years has informed my position on important issues.

Last year, working alongside Rep. Tim Mahoney, I led the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in an open and honest debate about how to expand the Commonwealth’s Right-to-Know Law. After days and days of thoughtful deliberations in both the House and Senate, the General Assembly is now poised to enact significant improvements into law early this year.

This new open-records law, which for the first time includes the Legislature, will provide the public with greater access to public records than at any time in Pennsylvania’s history.

But the new open-records law is only one of the reforms on which my colleagues and I have focused over the last year.

I heard the message of the voters in 2006, whose clarion call was to make the legislative process more open and transparent. That is why, immediately upon convening the 2007-08 Session as Majority Leader, I urged a comprehensive examination of the external and internal operating procedures of the House.

As a result, our members adopted 32 reform measures that have provided greater transparency and deliberation in the legislative process than at any time in recent history.

For example, the rules now require us to adjourn session no later than 11 p.m. Gone are the days of “stealth” amendments in the middle of the night. More time is provided for bills to be amended – and at all points during the process – to ensure that all House members and the public have ample opportunity to consider amendments, and roll call votes and live video of our sessions are now available on the Internet.

At the same time, our leadership team conducted a review of our internal operations and implemented measures that will save the taxpayers millions of dollars a year in the operation of the House Democratic Caucus.

Within this new structure, last year we successfully pushed for passage of a responsible state budget, while tackling the weighty issues of health care and education, and of protecting our children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

The $27.16 billion budget was balanced with current revenues and had no tax increases. We also passed legislation that helps families across the state, such as a healthcare bill to reduce the likelihood of hospital-acquired infections and a law that provides for improvements to the state’s roads, bridges and mass transit systems of all sizes without raising the gas tax.

Now it’s time to complete the two-year job. We have already started by putting up the votes to lower property taxes, and we will continue to work to make affordable health care and economic opportunity available to all Pennsylvanians, to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and to better ensure safety in our coal mines.

In addition, I’ll continue to be heavily involved in challenging the power line that the federal government wants to run through our pristine countryside, and I’ll keep working with state Senators J. Barry Stout and Richard A. Kasunic to secure state funding for local projects similar to our successful efforts to rebuild the Ryerson Dam.

As Majority Leader and a lifetime resident of the 50th District, I am intensely focused on addressing the concerns of residents of the 50th District and southwestern Pennsylvania.

I think everyone can agree that, despite whatever differences may exist, these priorities represent our best hope for the future. I look forward to furthering this agenda in the coming months.

Bill DeWeese, D-Waynesburg) is Majority Leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, whose 50th District covers Greene County and parts of Fayette and Washington counties.