Open-records reform is half the battle

This should have been a no-brainer, but when the Pennsylvania Legislature gets involved, a lot of people check their brains at the door.

Nobody is happy about the open-records revisions passed by the Pennsylvania House on Wednesday. The bill still has to clear a House-Senate conference committee before it reaches the governor's desk for a signature, but it falls into the category of "better than nothing," which as I've said before should be the official motto of Pennsylvania.

We have the worst open-records law in the county so any improvement is "better than nothing." But is this the best we can do? Why are Pennsylvania taxpayers paying for the most expensive state legislature in the country when all it can come up is watered-down version of an open-records law?

The Senate won't take a final vote on the bill until January, but one thing to keep in mind is that the proposal before the Legislature addresses only access to records produced by government officials.

There are major problems with other provisions of Pennsylvania's so-called Sunshine Act. Too many decisions are made behind closed doors in violation of the very loose restrictions government agencies have to abide by.

This is the focus of an editorial in The Mercury. Too often, local municipalities fail to open meetings to the public as well as make residents jump through hoops to obtain public documents, according to the newspaper. Read the full editorial at The Mercury's Web site, www.pottsmerc.com