Open records debate continues

HARRISBURG — This year’s new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives has been pressing for changes in public access to legislative records. Proposed legislation was scheduled to come to the floor of the House for a vote this week. Following through on the recommendations of the bipartisan Speaker’s Commission on Legislative Reform in October, Democratic members of the State Government Committee approved a bill (H.B. 443) to expand the state’s Open Records law. Under the proposal, and for the first time ever, the legislature will be included in the open records law. Democrats charge that proposals like this sat dormant for 12 years when House Republicans were in charge. Other substantial issues were forced to a vote as last-minute amendments without any public input. From the other side of the aisle, a Republican say that open records reform has been handled badly by the Democrats. A party statement While House Republicans agree that records should be open to the public, they do not agree with “the shortsighted manner in which the issue is being handled. “Open records legislation was strong-armed through the House State Government Committee in late October and moved to the House, where it was subject to more than 80 amendments. This demonstrates that additional work remains, a task far better suited at the committee level where public input can be gathered. The legislation in front of lawmakers actually represents a step back in certain areas, where it would make it harder and less timely to secure records from the government.” The open records legislation must be approved on third consideration by the full House before advancing to the Senate for approval. A final vote on the House version was expected during the week of Nov. 13.