OPINION

By Paul Muschick
The Watchdog | The (Allentown) Morning Call

Reporters across the state put Pennsylvania's nearly year-old open records law to the test recently in a fun but eye-opening project spearheaded by The Associated Press.

An army of reporters posing as ordinary citizens showed up at city halls, police departments and superintendents' offices for a few days in October, requesting information that you, the public, are entitled to.

We were relieved to find Lehigh Valley officials mostly were familiar with the law and followed it by turning over the resumes, applications, police blotters and 911 logs that our incognito reporters asked for. But a fe w holdouts sh owed either a lack of understanding or respect for the new law.

Some demanded identification and wanted to know where we worked and why we wanted the information -- not a requirement under the law -- while others insisted public information was private.

Those surveyed seemed to learn something. The Nazareth police department changed its policy and opened up its blotter as a result, after refusing to provide a reporter access.

''We didn't pass the test -- that's fair,'' Chief Thomas Trachta said. ''We are in compliance now.''

We learned something, too: It's sometimes easier to get records with a press pass than without it. But the public shouldn't need a pass or a ploy to get information.

Citizens should have far greater access to what their governments are up to because of the broadened open records law, which went into effect Jan. 1. Officially called the Right-to-Know Law, it provides access to records from more agencies, plus state lawmakers and judges.

Most importantly, it created a fundamental shift by presuming most records are public, forcing agencies to prove they aren't.

Morning Call reporters and editors got most of what we asked for during the AP audit. We had to fill out forms in many instances, which is permitted under the law.

Governments didn't always provide the records instantly, which also is OK. They must respond to a request in five days, but can take another 30 days to determine if the documents are indeed public.

The East Penn School District provided the superintendent's contract within minutes, and without asking who we were or why we wanted it. Afterward, though, reporter Nicole Radzievich was asked if she worked for ''the newspaper,'' indicating her cover had been blown.

The Easton Area School District also provided the contract instantly, but only after reporter Patrick Lester was told he must identify where he worked.

North Whitehall Township provided reporter Michael Duck with grant applications the day after he asked. Secretary-treasurer Brenda Norder provided him with space to review the records and went out of her way to make phone calls to answer questions about them, though she indicated later she also suspected he was a reporter.

Some agencies, including Nazareth police, the Bethlehem Area School District and Carbon County communications center, shot us down when we sought information that media lawyers and state open records officials say the public can view.

Editor Christine Schiavo asked the Bethlehem district for the resume and job application of Athletic Director Samuel Senneca.

Schiavo said a receptionist told her, ''You can't just come in and ask for that.''

She said she was sent to the human resources office, where a secretary said she wasn't sure if that information could be released. Schiavo asked to speak with the district's right-to-know officer (state law requires governments to dedicate an officer) and instead was referred to a third secretary.

''It's not public information,'' she said secretary Sandy McFadden told her. ''It's not our policy to release information in personnel files.''

Thomas Washington, the district's right-to-know officer, told me people must request records in writing. When I told him Schiavo wasn't told to do that, he said that's because she was ''confrontational'' and the conversation never got that far.

Schiavo said she was assertive, not confrontational, and the staff she spoke with had plenty of time to explain the protocol.

A few other agencies also refused to provide records, including Carbon County's communications center, which wouldn't provide a log of 911 calls. Reporter Brian Callaway said an unidentified dispatcher told him he'd need a subpoena.

Nazareth police wouldn't provide its police blotter, which is public under the state Criminal History Record Information Act.

''That's not public info,'' reporter Kevin Amerman said chief Trachta told him, asking to know why he wanted to see it.

Knowing the law was behind him, Amerman didn't give a reason and said he just wanted to look at it. That's when Trachta asked for ID and to copy Amerman's media credentials and driver's license. He also requested the name and phone number of his supervisor.

Trachta told me he wasn't convinced Amerman was a reporter. He said he was acting ''suspicious'' and he thought he was digging for information on an incident under investigation that day.

''There was a mistake there,'' he said. ''I recognized the mistake. I implemented a policy, and we're abiding by it now.''

He said within a day or so of The Morning Call's inquiry the department made blotter information available.

Other departments, including Bethlehem, provided a blotter without questions.

''It's public information,'' Detective Sgt. Mark DiLuzio told Schiavo. ''A lot of people don't know that. A lot of cops don't know that.''

Bangor police, who weren't part of this open records audit, faxed The Morning Call a daily log sheet. It shows the officers on duty and lists incidents they respond to by address and nature, ranging from routine security checks to accidents and traffic stops.

Others who get the law include Plainfield Township Secretary Joyce Lambert, who provided a copy of an employee's job application the same day she was asked -- despite having reason to be concerned about handing it over because it was her application we'd asked for.

Another major change that debuted in the state Right-to-Know Law this year was the creation of a central agency to resolve disputes over whether records are public. The Office of Open Records received more than 1,100 appeals in its first year, an indication that citizens, not just reporters, want information.

''I think that Pennsylvania has seen a remarkable victory in the first year,'' said Terry Mutchler, executive director of the office. ''Yes, we can point to extreme examples that appear to be anti-open governmentÂ…but overall, I think it is definitely a thumbs-up year for Pennsylvania.''

Mutchler, who is a former Morning Call reporter and oversaw a similar open records office for Illinois, said next year should bring the first court interpretations of the law, which will be significant because they will set precedent.

She said while the law has set parameters and a process for people to get information, it won't alleviate all disputes.

''There's always going to be citizens who will never trust their government officials and there always are going to be government officials who don't like the public,'' Mutchler said.

The Associated Press analysis of the open records law will appear in The Morning Call starting Monday. More information is on my blog.