Indiana University of Pennsylvania September 24, 2015 Erik Arneson, Executive (717)

Right-to-Know (Open Records) Law Completely rewritten in SB1 (Pileggi) of , Act 3 of 2008 All gov’t records presumed to be available  30 exceptions in RTKL  Other laws can make records non-public Gov’t agencies have burden of proof Created the Office of Open Records Pennsylvania now one of the most open states

Office of Open Records Simple for requesters & agencies A requester denied access can appeal to OOR No lawyer necessary for requester OOR assigns Appeals Officer to oversee case Both sides can present evidence & argument OOR has 30 days to issue Final Determination

More Complicated Cases OOR can order hearings and in camera review Some cases benefit from hearings More cases benefit from in camera review Only requester can grant extensions of time OOR has held few hearings Ordering in camera review more common Plan to do more mediation

Appeals on the Rise 2015 could set a new record 1,155 appeals in 2009 (first year) 1,228 in ,772 in ,188 in ,478 in ,017 in ,786 through 8/31/15 (on pace for 2,679)

Who Files Appeals? In 2014, appeals were filed by… 45.1% average citizens 38.8% inmates 8.4% companies 7.2% reporters / media 0.5% government officials 0.1% members of General Assembly

What Do They Appeal? In 2014, appeals were filed against… 829 – state agencies  57.3% Dept. of Corrections  8.0% State Police  3.9% Board of Probation & Parole 1,188 – local agencies  23% counties  18% school districts & charter schools  16% cities / 16% townships / 12% boroughs

How are Appeals Decided? 2,017 appeals filed last year (2014) 20.3% granted or partially granted 10.0% withdrawn by requester 27.4% dismissed (some dismissed as moot) 28.4% denied 6.0% no jurisdiction 1.2% consolidated 6.6% were pending as of 12/31/14

Photographing Public Records On Aug. 14, OOR held (Muenz v. Twp of Reserve) that requesters can photograph public records which they asked to inspect. Good for requesters and agencies Saves requesters money Saves agencies time and money Decision not appealed

MVRs: Dashcams & Bodycams In July, Commonwealth Court found (PSP v. Grove) that “video recordings of interaction between law enforcement officers and members of the public in a public place” are public records under the RTKL. Senior Judge Colins: “MVRs are at the core [of] the RTKL’s purpose of enabling the public to ‘scrutinize the actions of public officials, and make public officials accountable for their actions’.”

Supreme Court: PSEA Case This case deals with home addresses of agency employees, specifically school employees. Court has not scheduled hearing date No constitutional right to privacy for home addresses; however…  What due process rights do employees have?  How about non-employees?

OOR Outreach Training 42 training sessions held or scheduled in 2015 Training most often for agencies, but has been and can be for requesters Website & Blog

OOR Outreach Podcast Open Records in Pennsylvania podcast available on iTunes  Ep. 1: Common RTKL questions & mistakes  Ep. 2: Interview w/ Senator Pileggi  Ep. 3 (coming soon): Tips for requesters  Ep. 4 (coming soon): Tips for agencies

Amending the RTKL Senate Bill 411 Commercial requests Inmate requests Home address issue OOR process improvements Approved by Senate State Gov’t Cmte Must go to Approps Cmte, then full Senate Then through the House & to the Governor

THANK YOU Erik Arneson, Executive (717)