Author: Liz Wagenseller

Presentation for 12/5 Requester Training

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Yesterday, the Office of Open Records hosted a training session designed for requesters at our office in Harrisburg.

Topics covered include how to write a good RTKL request, accessing information in databases, significant deadlines in the RTKL, how to appeal a RTKL denial, and more.

Here’s the PowerPoint presentation I used for this session:

Requester Training – Dec. 5, 2018 – PDF
Requester Training – Dec. 5, 2018 – PPTX

The OOR regularly provides training on Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law and Sunshine Act. Our training calendar is available here, and we always welcome requests to provide training.

Our next scheduled training for requesters will take place on March 11, 2019.

New Standard RTKL Request Form

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Standard RTKL Request Form (Sample)The Office of Open Records (OOR) is required by Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) to “develop a uniform [request] form which shall be accepted by all Commonwealth and local agencies” (Section 505(a) of the RTKL).

Pursuant to that duty, the OOR has issued a new version of the Standard RTKL Request Form, which is available here in both PDF and DOCX formats:

Right-to-Know Law Forms

The new Standard RTKL Request Form reflects great input from both agencies and requesters. We asked for your thoughts back in September, and you came through. Thank you to everyone who offered suggestions.

We weren’t able to incorporate every idea, of course, but we did incorporate many. We hope and expect that the new form will be significantly more useful for everyone involved in the RTKL process.

As required by Section 505(a) of the RTKL, all Commonwealth and local agencies must accept RTKL requests submitted on the new Standard RTKL Request Form, as well as requests submitted on previous versions of the Standard RTKL Request Form.

The new Standard RTKL Request Form can also be accessed directly via these links:

New RTKL Flowchart

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RTKL Flowchart (2018 Final Updated Version)A new version of a flowchart designed by the Office of Open Records to help explain Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law process is now available.

In October, we posted a draft update and asked for suggestions on how to improve it. We appreciate everyone who shared their ideas.

The new flowchart is available here:

Speaking to Journalism Students at Gannon University

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Yesterday, I visited Gannon University in Erie to speak to one of Prof. Frank Garland’s journalism classes about Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law.

It was a great session, and I very much appreciate the invitation.

Here’s the PowerPoint presentation I used:

Gannon University – Prof. Francis P. Garland – Nov. 20, 2018 (PPTX)
Gannon University – Prof. Francis P. Garland – Nov. 20, 2018 (PDF)

If you’re a professor in Pennsylvania and you’d like me to speak to your class, let me know and I’ll do my best to make it happen.

Speaking at the Mercer County Courthouse

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On Monday, I visited beautiful Mercer County to speak to county department heads and employees about Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law.

It was a great session, and I very much appreciate the invitation. (The Mercer County Courthouse, built more than 100 years ago, is a wonderful building that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places.)

Here’s the PowerPoint presentation I used:

Mercer County – Nov. 19, 2018 (PPTX)
Mercer County – Nov. 19, 2018 (PDF)

If you’d like to request training from the Office of Open Records, here’s how to do it.

Speaking to Sisters in Crime: Delaware Valley Chapter

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On Saturday, I visited the Tredyffrin Public Library to speak to the Delaware Valley Chapter of Sisters in Crime about Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law.

It was a great session, and I very much appreciate the invitation.

Here’s the PowerPoint presentation I used:

Sisters in Crime – Nov. 17, 2018 (PPTX)
Sisters in Crime – Nov. 17, 2018 (PDF)

If you’d like to request training from the Office of Open Records, here’s how to do it.

Speaking to Two Journalism Classes at Penn State

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Yesterday, I visited Penn State University to speak to two of Cindy Simmons’ journalism classes about Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law.

Both were great sessions, and I very much appreciate the invitation.

Here’s the PowerPoint presentation I used:

Penn State University – Cynthia Simmons – Nov. 13, 2018 (PPTX)
Penn State University – Cynthia Simmons – Nov. 13, 2018 (PDF)

If you’re a professor in Pennsylvania and you’d like me to speak to your class about the Right-to-Know Law, let me know and I’ll do my best to make it happen.

Speaking to Students at Penn State

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Yesterday, I visited Penn State University to speak to Dr. Ben Cramer’s Telecommunications & the Environment class about Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law.

It was a great session, and I very much appreciate the invitation.

Here’s the PowerPoint presentation I used:

Penn State University – Dr. Benjamin W. Cramer – Nov. 5, 2018 (PPTX)
Penn State University – Dr. Benjamin W. Cramer – Nov. 5, 2018 (PDF)

If you’re a professor in Pennsylvania and you’d like me to speak to your class, let me know and I’ll do my best to make it happen.

Presentation for OOR’s 2018 Annual Training

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Office of Open Records LogoThis afternoon at 2:00 p.m., the Office of Open Records will hold its annual training session on Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law and Sunshine Act.

The session is taking place in Harrisburg, but you can also join us by webinar. (Get all the details and sign up here.) It’s free, and 2 CLEs (1 substantive, 1 ethics) are available for attorneys.

The session will include presentations by me (Erik Arneson), Director of Training and Outreach George Spiess, Chief Counsel Charles Brown, General Counsel Delene Lantz, and Deputy Director Nathan Byerly. We’ve combined all of our PowerPoint slides into a single presentation:

OOR Annual Training 2018 (PPTX)
OOR Annual Training 2018 (PDF)

Complete video will be available sometime after the session ends.

Two Agencies Ordered to Pay Legal Fees to Requesters

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Office of Open Records LogoThis year, at least two Pennsylvania courts have ordered government agencies to pay a requester’s legal fees after the agency was found to have been acting in bad faith under the Right-to-Know Law.

The first case (OOR Docket 2017-0994) began with a March 2017 request for records relating to a waste water plant construction project in Reading. After the city invoked a 30-day extension to respond, the request was deemed denied. The requester appealed to the Office of Open Records. The city, which bears the burden of proof under the RTKL, did not make any submissions during the appeal.

In a subsequent appeal also involving Reading (OOR Docket 2018-0244), the OOR found that, “Since January 2017, the OOR has granted eleven other appeals wherein the City invoked a thirty-day extension but ultimately did not respond to the Request or participate on appeal. … [T]he City has repeatedly ignored requests for records and not participated before the OOR. Based on the City’s failure to comply with its statutorily mandated duties under the RTKL, the OOR finds that the City acted in bad faith in the present matter by engaging in the same conduct.”

In August 2018, Judge James M. Lillis of the Berks County Court of Common Pleas ordered the city to pay $12,071.75 in legal fees to the requester.

The second case (OOR Docket 2014-1695) began with a 2014 request for records related to illnesses contracted by inmates and staff members at the state prison in Fayette.

In March 2018, Judge Robert Simpson of the Commonwealth Court ruled that “some of [the Department of Corrections’] noncompliance [with an OOR order] constitutes bad faith that merits statutory sanctions.”

In October 2018, Judge Simpson ordered DOC to pay $118,458.37 in legal fees to the requester.