Final determinations
State: York County must give addresses in 911 logs
May 27, 2009 |
The state Office of Open Records ruled recently
that publicly released time response logs from
York County's 911 Center must include where
police or fire units were headed when they were
dispatched. The office made the ruling Friday in
response to an appeal by the York Daily
Record/Sunday News. More than two months ago, the
Daily Record/Sunday News asked the county for the
logs with addresses. Read
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Pa. backs New Era on autopsy reports
April 21, 2009 |
The state has ruled that Lancaster County must
supply autopsy records in two cases to the
Lancaster New Era. In addition, the Pennsylvania
Office of Open Records has admonished the county
for not complying with the state's Right to Know
law when it rejected the newspaper's request.
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Opinion: State must close open records loophole
April 10, 2009 |
It took no time at all, only about three months,
for elected Pennsylvania officials to mount a
highly significant challenge to the state's
fledgling Right-to-Know Law. Most observers
expected a push against what had been hailed by
lawmakers last year as a comprehensive defense
against efforts to keep the public in the dark,
especially the practice of conducting secret
deliberations before springing a decision upon
citizens left to wonder how they got there. And,
indeed, it appears Pennsylvania's reputation as a
Land of Secrets remains in intact. Read
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DEP challenges records ruling
April 10, 2009 |
The state's new Office of Open Records has been
open four months and already it has received 278
requests for help in resolving disputes over what
constitutes a government record. So far, the
office has issued decisions in 75 of those
disputes involving such entities as fire
companies, school districts, parking authorities
and two dozen state agencies. Three of those
decisions were appealed to county courts. One
recent decision could become one of the first
court tests of the revised Right to Know Law and
could be of interest to anyone who doesn't want
to travel far to review government records.
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Opinion: If requested, state should mail documents
April 10, 2009 |
The intent of Pennsylvania's Right to Know Law is
clear: Public information should be available to
the public in a timely fashion. But already we
have a legal challenge on what exactly
"available" means. Read
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Pennsylvania has first test over access to records
April 08, 2009 |
In one of the first tests of a new Pennsylvania
law intended to make state records more readily
available to the public, the State Department of
Environmental Protection was ordered on Tuesday
to copy and mail out documents to people who
request them, rather than force people to come to
its offices in Harrisburg. Read
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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Records appeal turned down
February 25, 2009 |
The Office of Open Records denied a borough
resident's request for records of inspections of
two privately owned properties. The office also
rejected an appeal from Quakertown School
District Read
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Ruling: Government employee birth dates are public records in Pa.
February 24, 2009 |
The new state Office of Open Records ruled on six
appeals, offering access to government employee
dates of birth, names of government contractor
employees and school board committee reports.
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Pa. open-records office: birth dates are public
February 24, 2009 |
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Names of employees of
government contractors and birth dates of
government employees are public information, the
state Office of Open Records has ruled in some of
the first appeals under Pennsylvania's new
Right-to-Know Law. Read
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