Procedural Issues

Here’s a Twitter thread I posted recently exploring deadlines under the Right-to-Know Law.

Deadlines. Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law (#RTKL) has many. First, an agency must respond to you within 5 (agency) business days after you submit a request. /1

— Erik Arneson (@ErikOpenRecords) August 2, 2018

Next, the agency can take an extension of up to 30 calendar days for its response. (To take an extension, the agency must notify the requester within the original 5 business days.) /2

— Erik Arneson (@ErikOpenRecords) August 2, 2018

If an agency fails to respond in 5 business days, or fails to respond on time after taking a 30-day extension, the request is "deemed denied" and can be appealed to @OpenRecordsPA. /3

— Erik Arneson (@ErikOpenRecords) August 2, 2018

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Here’s a Twitter thread I posted recently exploring some common procedural issues which arise under the Right-to-Know Law.

Friday afternoon seems like a good time to explore some Right-to-Know Law procedural issues, right? Tweets from @OpenRecordsPA will be used for these examples. #RTKL #OpenGov #Pennsylvania

— Erik Arneson (@ErikOpenRecords) July 20, 2018

I'll focus today on the reasons that some appeals made to @OpenRecordsPA are dismissed. The #RTKL includes some specific timelines which regularly come into play.

— Erik Arneson (@ErikOpenRecords) July 20, 2018

Agencies have five business days to issue a response to a #RTKL request. Sometimes, appeals are dismissed for being filed too early. e.g.: https://t.co/8s0aNXJnti

— Erik Arneson (@ErikOpenRecords) July 20, 2018

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Open Records in Pennsylvania

The official blog of the Office of Open Records

Twitter Thread: RTKL Deadlines

Twitter Thread: RTKL Procedural Issues