bonus-gate
Friday, July 04, 2008
PA Indictments Coming Coming Coming
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2008/07/pa-indictments-coming-coming-coming.html
Friday, July 04, 2008
Pennsylvania Politics Grand Jury Casino License? More Coming?
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2008/07/pennsylvania-politics-grand-jury-casino.html
Update
Bonus-gate with links to news articles
http://www.letfreedomringblog.com/?cat=178
Update new find
2008 – Deja or Vu ?
by Sylvia Baylor
...Shortly after the deadline for last month’s issue, news surfaced that 20 to 30 boxes of documents had been shredded that contained Democratic time sheets and compensatory time records. Such records would have been particularly useful to the Attorney General Corbett grand jury which is investigating whether last year’s $4 million in staffer bonuses is connected to campaign work.
Although the records are gone, news that the grand jury probe would widen to include obstruction of justice charges put the smell of blood in the water. Shortly thereafter, 22 Democrats approached majority leader DeWeese to complain about the progressive social content of the remaining bills to be voted on in 2007, in particular, emergency contraception and gun control. So to mollify that faction, the offending measures were pulled from the schedule, which left pretty much only open-records reform to vote on. On the appointed day for the vote, 16 of the 17 members of the Black Caucus, all Democrats, walked out of the House to protest of the lack of gun control legislation.
Meanwhile, Chadwick Associates, who were originally hired in March to teach ethics to the House, and later had their mission changed to one of risk management consultants who recommended the firings of seven high level Democrat staffers, recently got a new assignment. It seems that roughly 31,000 e-mails detailing the relationship of bonus payments to campaign work, (some with spreadsheets to do the actual calculations) never were completely erased as everyone thought, and Chadwick Associates was tasked to sort through them and organize them for the grand jury.
http://commonsense2.com/2008/01/the-keystone-scorecard/2008-%E2%80%93-deja-or-vu/
Posted on Tue, May. 13, 2008
Taxpayer bill in Pa.'s Bonusgate grows
By Mario F. Cattabiani
Inquirer Staff Writer
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20080513_Taxpayer_bill_in_Pa__s_Bonusgate_grows.html
A political reformer's rise and fall
Mike Veon undone by the things he went to Harrisburg to change
Sunday, June 29, 2008
By Dennis B. Roddy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08181/893447-454.stm
We've entitled this post: PA House Leader DeWeese No Questions on Open Records Email Blanket Exemptions. What the post is primarily all about is a NO! vote in the state House of Representatives cast by H. William DeWeese. Here's why and what prompted the post at this time.
Over at the Greene County Messenger, in headlines (and archived articles) regarding state politics, the news org gives readers an opportunity to keep track of Pennsylvania House Majority leader H. William DeWeese. We should be grateful, and we are.
Yep, readers can continue from now to who knows when to easily follow along news reports from way back about DeWeese and "bonus-gate" and property tax reform promises, seeing the light on more accessible open records and the reform bandwagon, and more.
Included in the listing of archived news reports, the title of the most recent: Scant details emerge on DeWeese trip Monday, March 24 12:55 p.m.
Scant details is an understatement.
The archives include articles from farther back, and we'll be getting to that.
Although the url for the archives uses the Herald Standard's name, it's actually the Greene County Messenger.
Only one archived article is about DeWeese's political opponent come the Fall election, Greg Hopkins, a Republican.
Our intention is to show that from way back when, up to this point, and going into the April Primary election, DeWeese has never been asked a particular question about one of the most revealing votes in his 30-year political career.
Here's the headline we're getting to for special notice:
Herald-Standard editors interview DeWeese regarding "Bonusgate" (View Video)
The Herald-Standard video is still available by way of the Greene County Messanger site. The link shows an interview of DeWeese by Herald Standard editorial board members occurring in January 2008.
Herald-Standard editors interview DeWeese regarding "Bonusgate"
By: 01/14/2008 Updated 01/24/2008 02:53:33 PM EST
http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/tab4.cfm?newsid=19196939&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=624169&rfi=6
mms://a970.v0347829.c34782.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/970/34782/0/partner.video.syndication.msn.com/ft/share0/6171/5353B825/jandeweese.wmv
To put our renewed interest in the availability of this particular video in perspective, remember a few months back, we posed the question:
Was DeWeese ever asked during any interview why he voted "NO!" (around mid-October, 2007) on an amendment proposed by Rep. Babette Josephs when all other reps representing a part of Fayette County voted yes?
We're still asking that one, and a few other questions. The reason we want to bring to attention the video that remains on the Greene County Messenger news site:
No question has been asked about as we said, one of the most revealing NO! votes in the 30-year plus political career of H. William DeWeese.
The Babette Josephs' amendment in the PA House - according to the Tribune Review's Brad Bumstead - in an article entitled "Shhh! More State Secrets (Nov. 11, 2007) - would have removed the "blanket exemptions" for emails in the open records reform bill continued to be known as House Bill 443.
Remember the House State Government Committee which handled all measures seeking to deal with open records legislation settled on one, freshman legislator Tim Mahoney's original legislation on open records, House Bill 443?
The Mahoney legislation known as House Bill 443 was introduced March 13, 2007. Keep that in mind.
We tracked DeWeese's co-sponsorship for Mahoney's version of the bill as well. DeWeese signed on as co-sponsor in April, 2007.
Recall, the original Mahoney open records bill did not apply to past records.
That's important to note as things unfold chronologically here.
Our coverage included such information in this post:
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
PA Open Records Reform: Exemption Central
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2008/01/pa-open-records-reform-exemption.html
We referenced:
Pennsylvania pushes to open records By Brad Bumsted Tribune Review Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Lawmakers said they are working on the exemptions to records that would be publicly released, such as those containing trade secrets, Social Security numbers, credit reports and details of ongoing police investigations.
Advocates are concerned about a provision in Mahoney's bill that would limit release to future records, Wilson said.
Any records from the past would be covered by existing law, Mahoney said. "Why do we want to go backward when we should go forward?" he said.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_532821.html
We repeat here for flow of this post the words of Tim Mahoney regarding his own bill.
During an October press conference (held Monday October 15, 2007 at the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg, PA )Mahoney is quoted saying "we don't need any more investigations."
In our previous post, October 16, 2007 Citizen Discontent Open Records Exemptions we criticized:
Well, the news media failed us again. Really, if you are going to ask a legislator to explain his or her position, and he or she doesn't, you press further to get a decent answer. (press, that's one reason they're called The Press)
That didn't happen with the questioning of Rep. Timothy Mahoney. He wasn't asked why past "investigations" in Pennsylvania history SHOULD BE EXEMPTED from sunshine.
He wasn't pressed to answer why the legislation should only apply to records from the time of enactment of the bill, if that was his meaning.
What reason could there possibly be to suppress anything so long as there would not be a so-called "immediate" national or state security risk to divulge?
Representative Mahoney should have been questioned further by the same group of newspaper reporters and editors who support full open records. (barring security concerns)
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/10/citizen-discontent-open-records.html
The original Mahoney bill HB 443 contained the exemption for a certain segment of legislative electronic communications.
In our post PA Open Records Reform: Exemption Central we continue to note and stress:
Mahoney's bill did not apply the access to past records.
We continue to raise questions about the House votes of DeWeese and Mahoney on Rep. Babette Josephs' amendment, which are apparently at odds with each other.
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2008/01/pa-open-records-reform-exemption.html
Apparently, during its proceedings the House State Government Committee(SGC) did not remove language from the Mahoney bill regarding "past records," thus continuing an exemption or non-application of the new open records reform bill to past records. (This was changed in the Senate Bill 1 later introduced by Senator Pileggi.)
The House SGC added language to Mahoney's bill regarding Mahoney's partial exemption for e-mail communications.
Thus not only did House SGC action seek narrowing a bill which already included 2-dozen exemptions, according to Tim Potts, but it sought enabling "blanket exemption" for e-mail communications.
October 22, 2007 Pennsylvania open-records bill gutted with last-minute amendments
http://www.spj.org/blog/blogs/foifyi/archive/2007/10/22/8994.aspx
It remains unclear when exactly Democracy Rising PA's Tim Potts tagged the bill, the Corruption Protection Act. Potts wasn't pleased with the Mahoney bill's some "two-dozen exemptions" in comparison with another state's requirements, or Mahoney's dismissing opening past records.
The Bud Angst Report Open Records Reform On Road To Becoming Latest Legislative Failure we've come across notes the October 15, 2007 Press conference and references Potts.
As we reported in PA Newspaper Publishers Retract Support for Open Records (Corruption Protection Act)(October 24, 2007) the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association pulled its support from HB 443.
Apparently, this was shortly after State Government Committee action.
As Brad Bumstead reported as clearly as possible in our opinion - the Newspaper Publisher Association pulled its support from HB 443, and according to Bumstead, the NPA referenced the email communication exemption as "blanket exemption" for lawmakers' e-mail in House Bill 443.
Bumstead's article is dated November 11, 2007 and he references action that took place on the Babette Josephs' amendment as occurring last month. That would have placed such action in October, 2007.
That's in keeping with when the PA Newspaper Publisher Association retracted its support.
Keep the chronology in mind, it will be important to understanding why we're questioning as we are.
After pulling its support from HB 443, The PNA put their considerable weight behind Senator Pileggi's bill in-the-works, pushing seriously for several key changes which Pileggi quickly adopted in his legislation. Once Pileggi made those changes, some major such as applying the open records to the legislature, the PNA then put its full support behind the Pileggi bill.
It was during this time period, before Pileggi's bill made its own necessary alterations, state Rep. DeWeese went around the state promoting the House version of open records reform bill HB 443. More often than not, state Representative Tim Mahoney was side-by-side with Rep. DeWeese.
While the House version did apply to the state legislature, enabled the presumption all records are open, with exceptions, and placed the burden of rejecting requests on the state agencies and government entities, the original version, again, did not apply to past records. (only those records were to be covered that occurred after the bill's implementation and in the future)
After SGC action, as well, there was "blanket exemption" for e-mail communications.
Apparently these events occur during October, 2007.
Why didn't H. William DeWeese support the Babette Josephs' amendment in the House version in October 2007 which would have removed the "blanket exemption" for e-mail communications?
Another question stands, but it is answerable. What was in the DeWeese-supported House version of open records that DeWeese wanted to remain even after an attempt was made to remove the section?
"blanket exemption" for lawmakers' e-mail in House Bill 443
And one could say leaving past records closed to the public as no House action reversed the exclusion.
Was DeWeese ever asked why he voted "NO" on Babette Josephs' amendment, when representatives Mahoney, Kula, and Daley voted Yes?
(Shhh! More State Secrets)
Shhh! More state secrets By Brad Bumsted
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review published Sunday, November 11, 2007 notes
Rep. Babette Josephs, chairwoman of the House State Government Committee, last month offered an amendment to remove what the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association calls a "blanket exemption" for lawmakers' e-mail in House Bill 443. The Philadelphia Democrat's amendment was defeated 127-69 with seven members excused...
... Here is how your House members voted on the Josephs amendment. A "yes" vote would have made lawmakers' e-mail available (if approved finally). A "no" vote scuttled her amendment and maintained the status quo:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/bumsted/s_537390.html
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2008/01/pa-open-records-reform-exemption.html
In other words, why was Rep. DeWeese willing to retain the "blanket exemptions" for e-mail communications in the revised House Bill 443, when the original sponsor of HB 443, Timothy Mahoney was not willing to retain the "blanket exemptions for e-mail communications?
Deberah Kula, Peter Daley, and Timothy Mahoney all voted "yes" for Josephs' amendment, which would have removed the "blanket exemptions for e-mail communications.
Now we can watch over and over again what happened during a January, 2008 Herald-Standard interview.
From it we can determine that not one question is asked of DeWeese to explain one of the most revealing "NO!" votes of DeWeese's 30-year plus political career.
A NO! vote packed in among those which were responsible for defeating Babette Josephs' amendment that would have removed "blanket exemption" for lawmakers' e-mail in House Bill 443.
The Philadelphia Democrat's amendment was defeated 127-69 with seven members excused.
Had the Babette Josephs' House amendment passed, it would have removed language from the State Government Committee's version of HB 443 that enabled "blanket exemption" for e-mail communications.
A "blanket exemption" for e-mail communications including possibily some legislative e-emails which became the subject of an PA Attorney General investigation.
Can we really believe, news editors around the state who interviewed DeWeese about bonus-gate emails after October, 2007, were not aware of DeWeese's NO! vote on Rep. Babette Josephs' amendment. They were simply unaware that DeWeese's NO! vote was diametrically opposed to the Yes votes of fellow representatives Timothy Mahoney, Deberah Kula, and Peter Daley regarding the most major piece of legislation to come PA's way for some 30 years?
Will H. William DeWeese face even one question about his NO! vote and his motivation to want a House-crafted open records bill that retained "blanket exemptions" for email communications that just happenstance might have applied to "legislative" email messages and might have just happenstance encompassed email communications perhaps central the state Attorney General's investigation of what later became known as "bonus-gate." ??
E-mails show how Dems tied staffers' bonuses to campaign work Sunday, December 16, 2007 By Dennis B. Roddy and Tracie Mauriello, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07350/842079-85.stm
More subpoenas, more details in Pa. bonus probe Philadelphia Inquirer Oct 14, 2007
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/news_breaking/20071013_More_subpoenas__more_details_in_Pa__bonus_probe.html
Why did DeWeese vote NO! on the Babette Josephs amendment which would have eliminated the "blanket exemption" for e-mail communications?
And remember, it took Senator Pileggi's Senate Bill 1 to reject the "blanket exemption" for lawmakers' e-mail and to apply the new open records requirements to past records as well as current and future records.
See the Feb. 12, 2008 and Jan. articles concerning Senate version including its 'retroactive' application.
Posted on Tue, Feb. 12, 2008
Accord seen near on Pa. open-records bill
By Angela Couloumbis
Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau
The law would not take effect until Jan. 1. The bill's supporters said they needed that time to allow agencies and the legislature to implement the rules and hire additional staff. The law would be retroactive and cover records already collected by government agencies.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20080212_Accord_seen_near_on_Pa__open-records_bill.html
Posted on Thu, Jan. 31, 2008 Senate passes open-records bill that would greatly widen access By Amy Worden Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau
Makes access to legislative records retroactive. SOURCE: Senate Majority Leader's Office, AP
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/15063122.html
And a mere month after DeWeese's NO! vote, with the "blanket exemption" for emails remaining in the House version of open records legislation, (HB 443), November 13, 2007, according to reports, Rep. DeWeese forced seven of his top aides, including longtime chief of staff Michael Manzo, to resign after reviewing documents about to be turned over to Corbett.
"...documents about to be turned over to Corbett..."
Nobody else apparently is concerned DeWeese had access to the "bonus-gate" legislative email communications prior to an announcement of Corbetts' criminal investigation of them.
Nobody else apparently is concerned DeWeese had access to
"...documents about to be turned over to Corbett..."
And had that access and knowledge at the very least about the same time freshman legislator Timothy Mahoney presses for DeWeese's support of an open records legislative bill that does not apply to "past records."
E-mails show how Dems tied staffers' bonuses to campaign work
Sunday, December 16, 2007
By Dennis B. Roddy and Tracie Mauriello, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
excerpt
DeWeese investigation
Most of the e-mails and spreadsheets were first uncovered by House Majority Leader H. William DeWeese, of Waynesburg, who had delegated much of the day-to-day operation of the caucus to Mr. Veon. Mr. DeWeese, after accumulating information from state computers, provided thousands of e-mail exchanges, which are now at the core of the state attorney general's case.
None of the materials obtained by the Post-Gazette suggests that Mr. DeWeese was aware of the scheme. Mr. Veon did not respond to a message seeking comment.
After initially being told by staff that the bonuses were routine seniority and holiday awards, Mr. DeWeese said he discovered that the bonuses amounted to $1.9 million. He then ordered an internal inquiry, calling in William Chadwick, a former prosecutor, in March, prior to the announcement of a criminal probe by the attorney general.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07350/842079-85.stm
Not only is there little interest in determining exactly when Rep. DeWeese had access to the "bonus-gate" emails, there don't seem to be any questions about whether the Mahoney open records bill which denied access to past records would have prevented the "bonus-gate" emails from ever seeing the public light of day.
It appears a DeWeese internal investigation of legislative staffer e-mails began around March 2007. (See Post-Gazette )
Just around the same month Rep. Tim Mahoney's open records bill was introduced. (March 13, 2007) The bill that didn't apply the legislation to "past records."
Though Corbett's investigation may have begun earlier, possibly as early as Jan./Feb. 2007, from the following we know that a Grand Jury investigation! yes, investigation, began at least as early as September, 2007.
BonusGate Grand Jury September 12 2007
Filed under Pa Dems, Pa House by AlexC
Democrat House Staffers have spent the past few days meeting with a grand jury in Harrisburg explaining what’s been going on.
http://pawatercooler.com/?p=2460
Recall, then, the Mahoney legislation for open records did not apply to past records from its inception and introduction March 2007, and the "blanket exemption" for e-mail communications in House Bill 443 remained after the Josephs' amendment's defeat, with a vote of NO! from DeWeese. That action occurred around October, 2007.
E-mails show how Dems tied staffers' bonuses to campaign work
Sunday, December 16, 2007
By Dennis B. Roddy and Tracie Mauriello, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
excerpt
DeWeese investigation
Most of the e-mails and spreadsheets were first uncovered by House Majority Leader H. William DeWeese, of Waynesburg, who had delegated much of the day-to-day operation of the caucus to Mr. Veon. Mr. DeWeese, after accumulating information from state computers, provided thousands of e-mail exchanges, which are now at the core of the state attorney general's case.
None of the materials obtained by the Post-Gazette suggests that Mr. DeWeese was aware of the scheme. Mr. Veon did not respond to a message seeking comment.
After initially being told by staff that the bonuses were routine seniority and holiday awards, Mr. DeWeese said he discovered that the bonuses amounted to $1.9 million. He then ordered an internal inquiry, calling in William Chadwick, a former prosecutor, in March, prior to the announcement of a criminal probe by the attorney general.
Mr. Chadwick's in-house probe resulted in the accumulation of tens of thousands of e-mails that had been automatically archived but which most employees thought had been deleted long ago.
In all, 31,000 archived e-mails thought to have been deleted were later recovered...
excerpt
...The deletion of the 2006 e-mails and attempted destruction of documents in the Democratic Office of Legislative Research are among matters under investigation by the attorney general.
While the e-mails focus entirely on what appears to be a Democratic caucus practice of using state funds to pay volunteers for political work, Mr. Corbett's office is also investigating complaints of similar activities in the Republican caucus.
On Nov. 13 Mr. DeWeese forced out seven top House Democratic aides, including his chief of staff, Michael Manzo. He acted after receiving information from Mr. Chadwick, the Washington attorney and security consultant he had hired months earlier...
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07350/842079-85.stm
Nobody else seems to be concerned about the possibility those emails and other documents similar to them would not have been subject to open records under HB 443's "blanket exemption" for e-mail communications, either?
Nobody else seems concerned as anyone re-reading from the Greene County Messenger's archived slew of articles can determine - nobody has asked Rep. DeWeese even one question about his NO! vote on Babette Josephs' crucial amendment. A NO! vote which is one of the most revealing in DeWeese's 30-year political career?
Oh, and we can continue to re-read an article we will not have access to locally from Herald-Standard Uniontown's archives:
Activists issue 'citizens' indictment
Photo and story by Steve Barrett
01/07/2008
Activists representing a grassroots reformist group visited state Rep. Bill DeWeese's Waynesburg district office Wednesday morning to "indict" the House Majority Leader for his alleged involvement in a controversial bonus scandal.
Gene Stilp of Harrisburg and Dennis Baylor of Hamburg, representing the Taxpayers and Ratepayers United PAC, arrived in front of DeWeese's office in Stilp's "Pink Pig Bus" to issue a symbolic "Citizens' Indictment" to DeWeese.
The activists said they are issuing the documents to DeWeese and other legislative members connected to a controversial staff bonus scandal - referred to as "Bonusgate" - and other legislative members currently embroiled in investigations across the state.
"We are issuing these citizens' indictments now because we are approaching the first year anniversary of the official filing date of the complaint that launched the 'Bonusgate' scandal investigation and the attorney general has not issued any indictments directly related to Bonusgate," Stilp said.
Last year, State Attorney General Tom Corbett announced that his office would be conducting an expanding grand jury probe into allegations of illegal legislative bonuses to General Assembly employees.
Corbett is investigating whether Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate handed out $3.6 million to staffers during 2005 and 2006 as a reward for work on campaigns and whether state resources were used for political purposes. Both are illegal.
No one has been charged in the bonus probe, but at least a dozen Democratic staffers have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury handling the case in Harrisburg.
House Republicans also received subpoenas for personnel documents...
On Nov. 13, DeWeese forced seven of his top aides, including longtime chief of staff Michael Manzo, to resign after reviewing documents about to be turned over to Corbett.
http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/tab4.cfm?newsid=19175636&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=624169&rfi=6
Citizens' Indictment, indeed.
Still no question in investigative quarters about DeWeese's "NO!" vote, the most revealing of NO! votes in his 30-year political career.
Put your thinking caps on.
Open records legislation introduced by Ttimothy Mahoney in March 2007 does not apply to "past records."
Around March 2007, DeWeese
After initially being told by staff that the bonuses were routine seniority and holiday awards, Mr. DeWeese said he discovered that the bonuses amounted to $1.9 million. He then ordered an internal inquiry, calling in William Chadwick, a former prosecutor, in March, prior to the announcement of a criminal probe by the attorney general...
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07350/842079-85.stm
H. William DeWeese co-sponsors the Mahoney open records bill 443 in April 2007.
A grand jury investigation begins around September 2007 whose subject may include legislative e-mail communications.
At an October 2007 press conference, addressing features of his bill which do not open up "past records," Rep. Timothy Mahoney is quoted as saying: "we don't need any more investigations."
And, in October 2007 by some internal methodology in the state House, "blanket exemption" for e-mail communications is inserted into HB 443.
Around this time, Tim Potts calls HB 443 the Corruption Protection Act.
That blanket exemption" for e-mail communications receives the dumb award from the PA Newspaper Association too who pulls its support from HB 443.
The "blanket exemption" for e-mail communications remains in the House bill after defeat of Rep. Babette Josephs' amendment which includes the NO! vote of:
_____
Enjoy the historical video maintained at the Greene County Messenger site, and all the articles wherein not one question is asked, well, by now, you know about which DeWeese NO! vote, right?
(Net the Truth Online) (April 9, 2008) (This posting is made almost exactly 6-months after the Rep. Babette Josephs' amendment was defeated with help from the NO! vote of Rep. H. William DeWeese.)
(This site was updated April 10, 2008 to include more NO! vote links, just so any PA news editors and others know exactly which DeWeese NO! vote we're highlighting. And figure out why we're highlighting it.)
Related
Posted on Wed, Feb. 13, 2008
Rendell to get bill on open records
The measure widens access to government documents. It's the first of reforms long promised by the legislature.
By Angela Couloumbis
Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau
...The law is retroactive and covers records already collected by government agencies...
...One criticism is that the legislature would not fall under the jurisdiction of the Office of Open Records. Instead, the House and Senate would be allowed to decide whether they are in compliance with the law.
Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause PA, also pointed out that the Office of Open Records would not be truly independent since it would be attached to a state department under Rendell's jurisdiction. Kauffman believes the office must be part of an independent agency, such as the state Ethics Commission.
Kauffman also said the bill could open the door to allowing municipalities to slap people with nuisance fees - such as a charge for a staff member's time - when they try to seek public records.
And the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association has raised concerns about an exemption in the bill that would cover records relating to minors. The association believes the exemption is so broad that it could prevent even the release of names of students on the honor roll...
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/chester/20080213_Rendell_to_get_bill_on_open_records.html
It's not all roses
Rendell to get bill on open records
The measure widens access to government documents.
It's the first of reforms long promised by the legislature
Feb. 13, 2008
By Angela Couloumbis
Inquirer Harrisburg bureau
...Open-records advocates, however, believe the bill still has flaws, thought they call it a major improvement over the current act.
One criticism is that the legislature would not fall under the jurisdiction of the Office of Open Records. Instead, the House and Senate would be allowed to decide whether they are in compliance with the law.
Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause PA, also pointed out that the Office of Open Records would not be truly independent since it would be attached to a state department under Rendell's jurisdiction. Kauffman believes the office must be part of an independent agency, such as the state Ethics Commission...
http://www.openrecordspa.org/news021308b.html
Implications of Senate Bill 1 Open Records Feb. 29, 2008 and prior articles
http://www.blognetnews.com/pennsylvania/feed.php?channel=75&y=2008&m=02
Chronological articles
http://wikifoia.pbwiki.com/Pennsylvania
Q & A On PA Open Records Feb 22nd, 2008
http://passopenrecords.org/2008/02/22/q-a-on-open-records/
Published: March 23, 2008 11:52 pm
Creation of open-records office among big changes
BY JULIE BENAMATI
The Tribune-Democrat
Just over a month ago, Gov. Ed Rendell signed an improved Right to Know Law – also known as the Open Records Act – which guarantees a citizen’s right to access and obtain copies of public records held by government agencies.
Although some provisions take effect immediately, and others take effect on July 1, the bulk of the new law takes effect on January 1, 2009.
The changes are significant, according to Melissa Melewsky, legal counsel at Pennsylvania Newspaper Association in Harrisburg. She said the state’s law, originally enacted in 1957, was “one of the worst in the country,” and in great need of change.
“It’s not a perfect law, but it’s a vast and much-needed and welcomed improvement,” Melewsky said. “We had one of the worst in the country, and I don’t think we’re in that situation any more.”
Some of the biggest, notable changes:
http://www.tribune-democrat.com/local/local_story_083235248.html
Posted on Tue, Feb. 12, 2008
Accord seen near on Pa. open-records bill
By Angela Couloumbis
Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau
The bill does restrict access to some information. Exemptions would include some 911 emergency recordings, medical records, Social Security numbers, and constituent letters to lawmakers.
Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause of Pennsylvania, said the bill still had serious flaws.
Among them, he said, is that the legislature would not fall under the jurisdiction of the Office of Open Records. Instead, the House and Senate would get to decide for themselves whether they were in compliance with the law.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20080212_Accord_seen_near_on_Pa__open-records_bill.html
Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008
Pennsylvania looks brighter under new open-records law
By Bob Heisse
http://www.centredaily.com/331/story/407979.html
Pennsylvania Senate Republicans Open Records Law
Sen. Pileggi's Open Records Bill Sent to Governor
Senator Pileggi's Open Records Bill Approved by Senate; Returns to House for Concurrence
Senator Pileggi Comments on Status of Senate Bill 1
Senator Pileggi's Open Records Bill Approved by Senate; SB 1 Moves to House for Consideration
http://www.pasenategop.com/reform/reform.htm
Gov. Rendell signed Feb. 14, 2008 & Varied reports
http://www.openrecordspa.org/news.html
House, Senate advance versions of open records law
Thursday, November 29, 2007
By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau
HARRISBURG -- Citizens groups and General Assembly critics often cite a 2002 study that branded Pennsylvania's open records law as the 48th worst in the nation.
State legislators hate hearing that statistic, so both the Senate and a House committee took action yesterday to improve the situation...
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07333/837647-85.stm
Pa. House passes open records legislation
Lawmakers say bill strikes balance of rights and privacy
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
By Tracie Mauriello, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08033/854243-85.stm
Open records bill running into resistance in Pa. House
Saturday, February 02, 2008
By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08033/854243-85.stm
Philadelphia Inquirer
Tue, Dec. 18, 2007
DeWeese: 7 aides ousted over e-mail
Messages indicated that taxpayer money was used as a reward for political work.
By Angela Couloumbis and Amy Worden
Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20071218_DeWeese__7_aides_ousted_over_e-mail.html
Greene County Messenger Archives State News/Politics
http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/tab4.asp?brd=2280&nav_sec=85260
Herald-Standard editors interview DeWeese regarding "Bonusgate"
01/14/2008 Updated 01/24/2008 02:53:33 PM EST
http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/tab4.cfm?newsid=19196939&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=624169&rfi=6
January 11, 2008
General Assembly Set to Reconvene January 14; PSATS Opposes House-Passed Open Records Bill
Still Time For Changes — Contact Your Senator
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is set to re-convene on January 14 and Open Records is a priority issue for further deliberation in the Senate.
http://www.psats.org/news_open_records.html
Net the Truth Online
Sunday, February 03, 2008
PA Open Records: Publisher: DeWeese Press On Same Page Access
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2008/02/pa-open-records-publisher-deweese-press.html
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
PA Open Records Reform: Exemption Central
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2008/01/pa-open-records-reform-exemption.html
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
PA: DeWeese Remains Chief Democrat
PA state House Emails and Bonusgate:
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2008/01/pa-deweese-remains-chief-democrat.html
Monday, January 07, 2008
Pennsylvania Watch Leaders Dance
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2008/01/pennsylvania-watch-leaders-dance.html
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Pennsylvania Open Records Scam of New Year?
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2008/01/pennsylvania-open-records-scam-of-new.html
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Net the Truth Online blog Excellent Reporting PA Open Records Issue
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/10/net-truth-online-blog-excellent.html
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
PA Rep. Tim Mahoney Unavailable to Explain Public Records Exemptions
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/10/pa-rep-tim-mahoney-unavailable-to.html
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Citizen Discontent Open Records Exemptions
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/10/citizen-discontent-open-records.html
Much More
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
PA Capitol: DeWeese Co-Sponsor Freshman Open Records Bill
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/04/pa-capitol-deweese-co-sponsor-freshman.html
Pass Given to Mahoney on Bad Bill?
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/10/pass-given-to-mahoney-on-bad-bill.html
PA Newspaper Publishers Retract Support for Open Records (Corruption Protection Act)
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/10/pa-newspaper-publishers-retract-support.html
Newspaper suppresses House Bill Corruption Protection Act
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/10/newspaper-suppresses-house-bill.html
Mahoney Open Records Bill Called Corruption Protection Act
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/10/mahoney-open-records-bill-called.html
PA Rep. Tim Mahoney Unavailable to Explain Public Records Exemptions
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/10/pa-rep-tim-mahoney-unavailable-to.html
Citizen Discontent Open Records Exemptions
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/10/citizen-discontent-open-records.html
Open Records for PA Exempted General Assembly
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/06/open-records-for-pa-exempted-general.html
Search our site for results
(This post has been updated with additional material April 10, 2008)
(This post has been updated with new links June 30, 2008)
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