Centre County citizens gathered last night to discuss a disturbing idea: Laws intended to give Pennsylvania citizens access to any public records are considered by some to be the weakest in the nation.
The Pennsylvania Freedom of Information Coalition (PaFOIC) held the open forum to inform citizens of their rights according to Pennsylvania law.
The forum was held at Schlow Centre Region Library, 211 S. Allen St., with a panel of five professionals that offered their views about the Pennsylvania Open Records Law, or the Right-to-Know law.
Kim de Bourbon, executive director of PaFIOC, said she wants to inform citizens of their rights because "it's only important after it has directly affected them."
The panel included state Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre, District Judge Carmine W. Prestia, Centre Daily Times reporter Mike Joseph, attorney Craig Staudenmaier, and Robert Richards, distinguished professor of journalism and law and co-director of the Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment. The panel offered diverse opinions and personal experiences on how the Pennsylvania laws affect people in different ways.
Richards said the Right-to-Know law, which was enacted in 1957, hasn't seen any changes until recently in the new millennium.
"I hate to say it, but Pennsylvania's law is one of the worst in the United States," Richards said.
Staudenmier also noted issues in the statute: one being that it assumes not all records are public, making citizens prove their need to know.
Prestia affirmed this position saying the law is "inconsistent," and he would like to see it clarified.
"There is no reason to have to go to court and litigate to get [public information]," he said.
Another issue the panel discussed is the tendency for citizens to give in to an agency's first line of defense, which is to simply deny their request for public records. Benninghoff said he would like to see a change in the mindset among citizens about their rights to public records.
The panel also discussed the need for amending the statute to coincide with issues of the present.
Benninghoff noted problems with distinguishing how to define public records.
He said electronics are making this especially difficult, and if a bill is passed to amend this distinction, it won't be permanent because of the ever-changing nature of technology.
"If this is going to happen, if we're going to see some changes, it's going to be this year," he said.
The PaFOIC began these forums earlier this month in an effort to inform citizens across the state. State College was the second destination for the coalition with their first forum held at the University of Pittsburgh.
Two other forums are scheduled in Camp Hill and Philadelphia throughout the fall.
