A recent Spotlight PA and Resolve Philly article detailed how some counties seize Social Security benefits from foster children under their care. This brought awareness and criticism to an important issue. A companion article outlined the methodology in capturing the financial data. The journalists sent RTKL requests for records related to the county collection of … Continue reading Mediation: One of the OOR’s Best-Kept Secrets
The Local General Government code provides that any information obtained from “a tax audit, tax return, tax report, investigation of tax liability, administrative hearing regarding tax liability or verification with respect to tax liability” is confidential, and the OOR has found that this restriction applies even in cases where taxes are levied against entities other … Continue reading Transparency Zone, January/February/March 2025
Exemption 708(b)(11) protects trade secrets or proprietary information that might be divulged in the release of a record. Chief Counsel Kyle Applegate provided the legal analysis. As of April 9, 2025, this exemption has been cited in 359 OOR appeals. Section 708(b)(11) exempts: “A record that constitutes or reveals a trade secret or confidential proprietary … Continue reading Exemptions, Explained: 708 (b)(11), Trade Secrets and Proprietary Information
Yesterday morning the Executive Directors of the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission and Office of Open Records joined together for a virtual training on the Ethics Act and Right-to-Know Law. The entire session is available to watch on the OOR’s YouTube channel and both of the presentations are available here:State Ethics Commission Presentation (PDF)Office of Open … Continue reading Presentations from Pennsylvania Good Government Symposium
The Office of Open Records is proud to present its 2024 Annual Report. Highlights from report include: The OOR is required to “annually report on its activities and findings to the Governor and the General Assembly” (Section 1310(a)(9) of the Right-to-Know Law). Previous annual reports are available here.
In honor of Sunshine Week 2025, join us in-person or virtually on March 17 (11 a.m. – 12 p.m.) for a round-up of the major decisions and happenings with Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law and the Sunshine Act. Paula Knudsen Burke, the Pennsylvania-based attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, will moderate a panel … Continue reading Join Us During Sunshine Week: Getting to Know PA’s Transparency Laws
Hosted by Pennsylvania’s State Ethics Commission and Office of Open Records Good government is basic principle, built on the foundation of public trust and the exchange of information between governments and the public they serve. As a government employee, how can you be a steward of good government? What are your legal obligations? Join the … Continue reading Pennsylvania Good Government Symposium
In observance of “Love Data Week”, I joined Temple University Libraries to talk about requesting data via the RTKL. My slides are here.
When providing an invoice for legal services, an agency should redact the least amount of information possible, and not redact generic information within an entry identifying things such as “phone call,” “email,” “research”. 2024-2498 An agency must refund a requester for those pages that it printed out that did not require redaction. 2024-2754 Arbitrators’ opinions … Continue reading Transparency Zone, November/December 2024
This past summer, the OOR conducted a survey of 917 Agency Open Records Officers (AOROS) across the Commonwealth and followed up with longer one-on-one interviews with 30 AOROs. The survey report is now available: OOR 2024 Survey Report The survey and interviews included questions about the following: The OOR’s two summer interns of 2024, Ethan … Continue reading Report on Survey of Open Records Officers
| Docket | Date | Title | County | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20251227 | 05/02/2025 | Wayne Waltower Jr v. Whitemarsh Township Police Department | Montgomery | Dismissed: Lack of Jurisdiction |
| 20251208 | 05/02/2025 | Bruce Wishnefsky v. Lebanon County District Attorney's Office | Lebanon | Withdrawn |
| 20250980 | 05/02/2025 | Brian Skutnick v. Covington Township (Lackawanna) | Lackawanna | Consolidated |
| 20250979 | 05/02/2025 | Brian Skutnick v. Covington Township (Lackawanna) | Lackawanna | Consolidated |
| 20250978 | 05/02/2025 | Brian Skutnick v. Covington Township (Lackawanna) | Lackawanna | Granted |
| 20250908 | 05/02/2025 | Darren Gentilquore v. Pennsylvania Department of Corrections | Commonwealth | Dismissed: Moot |
| 20250835 | 05/02/2025 | Joshua Fitting v. Adams County | Adams | Dismissed: Untimely |
| Date | Organization | |
|---|---|---|
| June 3, 2025, 9:30 AM | The Latest Developments in the Right-to-Know Law | |
| July 16, 2025, 12:00 PM | PNA Media Lawyers Conference | |
| September 11, 2025, 8:00 AM | Pennsylvania State University Sunshine Law Training | |
| September 18, 2025, 12:00 AM | PA NENA 911 Spring Regional Meeting | |
| October 13, 2025, 12:00 AM | PNA Foundation RTKL Training |
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