COSTA ENCOURAGED BY OPEN RECORDS PASSAGE

HARRISBURG, January 31, 2008 - - State Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) today said that he was encouraged by the unanimous Senate passage of the state’s “Right-to-Know” law.

The legislation (Senate Bill 1) would give the public greater and timelier access to new and old government records.

“If we truly believe that we are a government for the people, this open records legislation is essential to provide more transparency and openness,” Costa said. “I am encouraged by the bipartisan support in the Senate, and will urge members of the state House to act quickly and get this on the Governor’s desk.”

Costa said the amended bill would presume that government records – as well as legislative records -- are public records unless one of the limited exceptions applies.

Other added provisions of the compromise legislation would keep birth dates on court documents and other public records to help verify a person’s identity; make 9-1-1 recordings and transcripts available where the public interest outweighs privacy concerns; hike the civil penalty against public officials who wrongly withhold a pubic record from $1,000 to $1,500; and make letters between lawmakers and lobbyists public documents.

“We passed the bulk of this important legislation in November,” Costa said. “However, this latest amended version is a much stronger bipartisan effort and a positive step towards openness and reform in state government.”

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