PNA Legal
2009 NEWS ON OPEN GOVERNMENT ISSUES

PNA Legal Hotline: Sunshine Act not violated if quorum not present

December 30, 2009 |
Q: Our township supervisors held a non-public meeting where two of five current supervisors
and one supervisor-elect were present. Is this a Sunshine Law violation? Read More...

II: New records law seems to bring change in attitudes

December 22, 2009 |
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A new test of how government agencies respond to records requests shows that a year after Pennsylvania's revamped Right-to-Know Law took effect, it may be transforming attitudes among public officials about the public documents and information under their control. Over two days this fall, reporters and others from 33 Pennsylvania newspapers, a TV station, and a community college journalism class filed 274 requests for public records from police agencies, local government offices and school districts in an audit coordinated by The Associated Press.
Read More...

Opinion: Shut down these records!

December 17, 2009 |
As 2009 comes to a close, we know already that the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association will be fighting three recently-introduced bills that are intended to close more records, all of which were reported from their original committees this week.
Read More...

PNA Legal Hotline: Court evidence presumed to be public

December 10, 2009 |
Q: A civil lawsuit involving a local government agency is pending and the parties have filed audio and video evidence with the court. Is this evidence public and can I get a copy? Read More...

PNA Legal Hotline: RTK Law governs access to draft minutes, tape recordings

September 17, 2009 |
Q: The school board secretary makes a tape recording of all school board meetings and uses the recording to draft meeting minutes. Occasionally, it takes the school board months to complete and adopt meeting minutes based on this recording, and they refuse to release the tape recording or draft minutes. Is the tape recording a public record? How long can the school board take to adopt official minutes?Can I get a copy of the draft minutes? Read More...

Opinion: Pre-registration for public comment at meetings unreasonable

September 11, 2009 |
Q: A new township policy requires anyone wishing to give public comment at a public meeting to sign up 3 days in advance and register the topics they will discuss. If you don’t preregister, you can’t speak at the meeting. Is this OK? Read More...

Lackawanna Court upholds Office of Open Records decision

September 10, 2009 |
In a September 9, 2009 memorandum and order, Judge Terrence R. Nealon of the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas ruled that unsuccessful bids in the possession of a government contractor are public records. The decision is the first one in which a court has considered the obligations of government contractors under the new Right to Know Law. Read More...

Opinion: Court dismisses open records case

July 30, 2009 |
In a disappointing ruling dated July 22, 2009, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismissed an open records appeal as improvidently granted. The parties had been waiting for a decision from the Court since March 5, 2007, the date the Court granted the appeal. Read More...

PNA Legal Hotline: Sunshine Act penalites not often imposed

July 30, 2009 |
Q: Our newspaper would like to pursue legal action against a local agency for Sunshine Act violations. Are there civil or criminal penalties for violating the act? Read More...

Opinion: Court enjoins release of school employees' home addresses

July 29, 2009 |
In an order dated July 28, 2009, Commonwealth Court Senior Judge Rochelle S. Friedman granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting the release of home addresses of public school employees. Read More...

PNA Legal Hotline: Court records are presumed to be public

July 16, 2009 |
Q: A local county court policy restricts access to all domestic court filings like divorce, custody, and child support. Pursuant to the policy, only parties and court personnel are entitled to access. Aren’t court records presumptively public? Read More...

PNA Legal Hotline: 'Retreat' to discuss five-year plan should be public

July 09, 2009 |
Q: The county housing authority is planning to hold a “summer retreat” for its members to work on the agency’s five-year plan. The retreat is not open to the public. Doesn’t the Sunshine Act require this type of discussion to be held at a public meeting? Read More...

Opinion: Department of Education decisions threaten public notice

May 21, 2009 |
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has issued two troubling decisions that negatively affect public notice in some communities. Read More...

PNA Legal Hotline: Home phone numbers not available through RTK Law

May 21, 2009 |
Q: The township supervisors do not hold office hours during the work day and work other full time jobs. I’d like to call them at home at a reasonable time. Can I get their home phone numbers via a Right to Know Law request? Read More...

Opinion: SB 419 would harm democracy, as well as newspapers

May 19, 2009 |
Newspapers and journalists have worked hard to help policymakers understand the true cost of putting public notices in junk mail: the loss of public access to information about what government is doing. Read More...

PNA Legal: Records should be turned over when payment submitted

May 14, 2009 |
Q: Can agencies withhold documents until my check clears and its financial department gives the go ahead? Read More...

PNA Legal Hotline: Informal requests for records OK

April 23, 2009 |
Q: If I want a document from a local agency, do I have to make a Right to Know request? Read More...

Opinion: OOR decision on 'draft' policy disappointing

April 07, 2009 |
In a disappointing decision, on March 23, 2009, the Office of Open Records found that a draft policy that was distributed to a school board for deliberation at a public meeting – and approved at that meeting – was not a public record. Read More...

Pa. newspaper group blasts open-records ruling

April 03, 2009 |
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association has sharply criticized the state Open Records Office for a ruling that the group says would allow school boards and other agencies to conduct more public business behind closed doors. Read More...

Opinion: Office of Open Records issues damaging decision

April 02, 2009 |
The Office of Open Records (OOR) has dealt a blow to open government, apparently finding that a budget discussion among a quorum of a school board was not "deliberation" for Right to Know Law purposes because it was, in the words of the OOR, an "informal" discussion. If this decision stands, it could have terrible repercussions for the public's right to know. Read More...

PNA Legal Hotline: Vote taken at unadvertised meeting not void

April 02, 2009 |
Q: A borough held an unadvertised special meeting and voted to create a contract during
the meeting. Does Sunshine Act automatically void the contract because the meeting was
not properly advertised? Read More...

PNA Legal Hotline: Fee schedule for criminal case files

March 26, 2009 |
Q: Does the fee schedule for the new Right to Know Law apply to criminal case files in the Magisterial District Courts? Read More...

PNA Legal: Police incident reports

March 12, 2009 |
One of the most frequent questions to our legal hotline is, "What records should I be able to get from the state or local police?" Read More...

PNA Legal Hotline: Settlement agreements are public record

March 12, 2009 |
Q: Are settlement agreements public? Can an agency rely upon a confidentiality clause in a settlement agreement to deny access? Read More...

PNA Legal: Questions for the Office of Open Records

March 11, 2009 |
Yesterday, we wrote about some of the early decisions of the Office of Open Records (OOR). We are continuing that discussion today, raising some of our questions and concerns about the first group of decisions. Read More...

PNA Legal: Our thoughts on the first decisions of the Office of Open Records

March 10, 2009 |
After reviewing the first “Final Determinations” issued by the Office of Open Records (OOR), we see some lessons in them for requesters and agencies. Not surprisingly, the decisions also raise some questions and concerns. Here are our thoughts on the first round of decisions. Read More...

PNA Legal Hotline: W-2s of public employees

March 05, 2009 |
Q: Am I entitled to copies of the W-2s of public employees? I want to determine the total income they are receiving. Read More...

The decisions are in ... New Open Records Office issues first “Final Determinations”

March 05, 2009 |
Since February 19, Pennsylvania’s Office of Open Records has issued 11 “final determinations” on open records disputes in the Commonwealth, and the results are mostly encouraging. These decisions are binding, unless appealed within 30 days. It is highly likely that some of these decisions will be appealed. Read More...

PNA Legal Hotline: Redaction of Cell Phone Records

February 12, 2009 |
Q: We requested and received cell phone records from a township in November of 2008. We recently received a letter from the township solicitor requesting that we return the cell phone records so that telephone numbers can be redacted in accordance with the new Right to Know Law and the recent Supreme Court case of Tribune Review Publishing v. Bodack. Do we have to return the cell phone records for redaction? Read More...