The Office of Open Records’ Annual Training on Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law and Sunshine Act will take place on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 1:30 p.m.
The free event has been approved for 2 CLEs for attorneys.
You can join us in person at the Commonwealth Media Center in the State Capitol Building, or via webinar. For full details and to register, visit the OOR’s EventBrite page.
Later this morning at the Office of Open Records in Harrisburg, I’ll lead a training session about Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law. This session is designed especially for members of the media and members of the public interested in using the RTKL to request government records.
Here’s the PowerPoint presentation I’ll use:
Media & Requester Training – Oct. 10, 2019 (PPTX)
Media & Requester Training – Oct. 10, 2019 (PDF)
If you’re interested in training about the Right-to-Know Law and/or the Sunshine Act (for agencies or requesters), please let us know.
Last night, I visited the State System of Higher Education’s Dixon Center in Harrisburg to speak to a group of students from across the state about Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law.
I was invited to speak by Dr. Duane Milne. It was a great discussion, and I greatly appreciate the invitation.
Here’s the PowerPoint presentation I used:
State System of Higher Education – Dr. Duane Milne – Oct. 8, 2019 (PPTX)
State System of Higher Education – Dr. Duane Milne – Oct. 8, 2019 (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.
The Office of Open Records is hosting a training session for requesters (media and non-media) at our office in Harrisburg on Thursday, Oct. 10, starting at 11 a.m.
This event will focus on various areas of Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law, including:
And much more.
This training session is free and open to everyone. To register, visit the OOR’s EvenbtBrite page.
Earlier this month, the Office of Open Records hosted the first-ever Right-to-Know Law Roundtable, an event designed to help requesters better understand Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law.
PCN was on hand to record the Roundtable, which I very much appreciate, and we’re able to present the following videos which cover the entire event.
The first video features the opening speaker, Judge Dominic F. Pileggi, a former state senator and author of the Right-to-Know Law, along with a discussion on the topic Practical Tips for Writing an Effective RTKL Request moderated by Angela Couloumbis (Philadelphia Inquirer) with panelists Melissa Melewsky, Esq. (Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association), Jan Murphy (Pennlive), and Megan Shannon, Esq. (Offit Kurman).
The second video features a discussion on the topic Enforcing Office of Open Records Final Determinations moderated by Joyce Davis (Pennlive) with panelists Adrienne Langer, Esq. (Cusick, DeCaro & Langer), Terry Mutchler, Esq. (Mutchler Lyons), and Thea Paolini, Esq., MBA (Nauman, Smith, Shissler & Hall).
The third video features a discussion on the topic Law Enforcement Records and the Right-to-Know Law moderated by Cindy Simmons (Pennsylvania State University) with panelists Paula Knudsen, Esq. (The Caucus), William Rozier (Pennsylvania State Police), and Liz Evans Scolforo (York Dispatch).
The fourth (and final) video features a one-on-one discussion between Jaime Fettrow-Alderfer (Lebanon Valley College) and Liz Navratil (Spotlight PA) about Using the Right-to-Know Law in Reporting.
We hope to organize more events like the RTKL Roundtable in the future. Please contact us if you have any comments or suggestions. And don’t forget to check our training calendar for all of our upcoming events.
This morning at the Office of Open Records in Harrisburg, I hosted a training session for a group of media requesters. The session focused on the Right-to-Know Law.
Here’s the PowerPoint presentation I used:
Media Requester Training – June 6, 2019 – PPTX
Media Requester Training – June 6, 2019 – PDF
If you’re interested in training about the Right-to-Know Law and/or the Sunshine Act, please let us know.
The Office of Open Records is hosting a training session on Thursday, Oct. 11, at our office in Harrisburg which will focus on Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) issues of importance to requesters.
Topics to be 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. There will also be time for questions and answers.
Sign up here to join us on Oct. 11.
NOTE: This training will be most useful for interested residents and members of the media. It will be of limited value to agency employees and agency attorneys.
If you’re interested in this kind of training but can’t join us for this event, the presentation used in the training will be posted to this blog, we’ll be providing additional requester training sessions (including webinars) in the future, and we’ll be creating more YouTube videos focused on requester issues.
Visit the OOR website for more information about upcoming OOR training sessions and to subscribe to the OOR’s email newsletter.
Last week, the Office of Open Records hosted our annual training session about the Right-to-Know Law and the Sunshine Act at the State Museum in Harrisburg.
I made a presentation, as did George Spiess, Chief of Training and Outreach, and Charles Brown, Chief Counsel.
Here are the presentations used at the 2016 Annual Training:
OOR 2016 Annual Training – Erik Arneson – PPTX
OOR 2016 Annual Training – Erik Arneson – PDF
OOR 2016 Annual Training – George Spiess – PPTX
OOR 2016 Annual Training – George Spiess – PDF
OOR 2016 Annual Training – Charles Brown – PPTX
OOR 2016 Annual Training – Charles Brown – PDF
If you’d like to watch the entire event, PCN has made video of the entire two-hour event available for free on its website.
This year’s Office of Open Records Annual Training will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the State Museum in Harrisburg.
Senior staff from the OOR will lead this session covering the Right-to-Know Law and the Sunshine Act.
The training will touch on the basics of each law, but additional detail will be provided on recent Final Determinations issued by the OOR, recent Supreme Court and Commonwealth Court decisions, and emerging issues.
This training session is designed to be of interest to both agencies and requesters. Attendees will have ample opportunity to ask questions.
This session is pending approval for 1.5 CLEs.
Earlier today, Charles Brown (Chief Counsel at the Office of Open Records) and I spoke at a continuing legal education at Widener University Commonwealth Law School in Harrisburg. This presentation was also recorded by PCN for airing at a later date.
We enjoyed the great questions and thank the school for inviting us.
Here’s the presentation I used:
Widener Presentation – Erik Arneson – Sept. 27, 2016 – PPTX
Widener Presentation – Erik Arneson – Sept. 27, 2016 – PDF
And here’s the presentation Charles used:
Widener Presentation – Charles Brown – Sept. 27, 2016 – PPTX
Widener Presentation – Charles Brown – Sept. 27, 2016 – PDF
Open Records in Pennsylvania 