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For Immediate
Release
7/18/07
CONTACT:
Erik Arneson
earneson@pasen.gov
(717) 787-4712
Senator Pileggi:
Right-to-Know Law is Top Fall Priority
HARRISBURG – Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi
(R-Delaware) today said that improving Pennsylvania's
Right-to-Know Law is his top priority for the fall session.
"We have made great progress this year by implementing
many important government reforms," Sen. Pileggi said. "But
the cornerstone of reform is strengthening our Right-to-Know
Law."
Sen. Pileggi is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 1, which
would strengthen Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law. Since
introducing that bill, he has announced his support for
changing the presumption in the current law so that all
government records are presumed to be open unless they fall
under a specific exception established in law.
"Changing the presumption on open records in Pennsylvania
won't be a simple task," said Sen. Pileggi. "Everyone
recognizes that some records should not be made public. We
need to make the list of exceptions as narrow and as clear
as possible, to give the public access while protecting
legitimate interests."
Sen. Pileggi is also the prime sponsor of Senate Bill
729, which would require the posting of all governmental
salaries online, and a co-sponsor of Sen. Jake Corman's
legislation to post detailed state contract information
online (Senate Bill 914). SB 729 passed the Senate
unanimously on May 22.
Earlier this year, the Senate approved legislation to
increase penalties for violating the Sunshine Law, to
eliminate lame-duck voting sessions, and adopted a new rule
to prohibit the use of Senate funds to pay for robo-calls.
The Senate also approved posting Pennsylvania's Consolidated
Statutes online and adopted strong new rules to give the
public much greater access to legislative information,
including posting roll call votes online, posting the full
text of all Senate debates online, posting amendments online
before a vote is taken, and waiting at least six hours
before voting on legislation amended in the Senate.
"We have made remarkable progress this year in reforming
state government," Sen. Pileggi said. "But our efforts must
continue."
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