Training

Today at 2 p.m. – RTKL Webinar for Requesters

/ Liz Wagenseller / Leave a comment

Office of Open Records LogoToday (Mon., Jan. 11, 2021) at 2 p.m., I will host a webinar about the Right-to-Know Law designed for requesters, including members of the media and anyone interested in accessing government records in Pennsylvania.

This webinar will be held via Zoom. You can find all the details you need to join on the OOR’s training calendar. It should last about 90 minutes, and there will be plenty of time for questions and answers.

Here’s the PowerPoint presentation that I’ll use:

The OOR regularly hosts webinars and in-person training sessions about various topics related to the Right-to-Know Law and the Sunshine Act. Feel free to request a specific training session for your group or organization.

The RTKL for Requesters – Video Training Session

/ Liz Wagenseller / Leave a comment

Office of Open Records LogoOn Dec. 2, I hosted a training session on Zoom designed for requesters, including members of the media and anyone interested in accessing government records in Pennsylvania.

That session, The Right-to-Know Law for Requesters, is now available on YouTube.

Here’s the PowerPoint presentation that I used:

The Right-to-Know Law for Requesters (Dec. 2, 2020) – PPTX
The Right-to-Know Law for Requesters (Dec. 2, 2020) – PDF

You can watch the entire video here or on the OOR’s YouTube Channel:

Tomorrow (12/2) – RTKL Webinar for Requesters

/ Liz Wagenseller / Leave a comment

Office of Open Records LogoTomorrow (Wed., Dec. 2, 2020) at 10 a.m., I will host a webinar about the Right-to-Know Law designed for requesters, including members of the media and anyone interested in accessing government records in Pennsylvania.

This webinar will be held via Zoom. You can find all the details you need to join on the OOR’s training calendar.

Here’s the PowerPoint presentation that I’ll use:

Other upcoming OOR webinars include:

  • Basics of the RTKL for Agency Open Records Officers – Dec. 9, 2020
  • Basics of the Sunshine Act – Jan. 6, 2021
  • The RTKL for Law Enforcement Agencies – Jan. 13, 2021
  • RTKL Payment Issues – Jan. 20, 2021
  • Confidentiality Laws and the RTKL – Jan. 27, 2021

Information about all of those webinars is available on the OOR’s training calendar.

The OOR regularly hosts webinars and in-person training sessions about various topics related to the Right-to-Know Law and the Sunshine Act. Feel free to request a specific training session for your group or organization.

Case Law Citations from 2020 Annual Training

/ Liz Wagenseller / Leave a comment

Open records_logo stackedDuring yesterday’s Annual Training on Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law and Sunshine Act conducted by the Office of Open Records, Chief Counsel Charles Brown discussed recent court cases of note.

Here are the citations to the cases he discussed:

  • Easton Area Sch. Dist. v. Miller, 232 A.3d 716 (Pa. 2020)
  • ACLU of Pa. v. Pa. State Police, 232 A.3d 654 (Pa. 2020)
  • City of Hbg. v. Prince, 219 A.3d 602 (Pa. 2019)
  • Payne v. Pa. Dep’t of Health, 2020 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 700, No. 579 C.D. 2019 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2020)
  • Smart Communications Holdings, Inc. v. Wishnefsky, 2020 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 707, No. 80 C.D. 2019 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2020)
  • Pa. Dep’t of Lab. & Indus. v. Darlington, 234 A.3d 865 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2020)
  • Pa. Trpk. Comm’n v. Elec. Transactions Consultants Corp., 230 A.3d 548 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2020)
  • Pa. Pub. Util. Comm’n v. Friedman, 2020 Pa. Commw. Unpub. LEXIS 505, No. 980 C.D. 2019 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2020)
  • Pa. Liquor Control Bd. v. Burns, 2020 Pa. Commw. Unpub. LEXIS 313, No. 1159 C.D. 2019 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2020)

The OOR’s Right-to-Know Law Case Law Index is also a useful resource.

OOR 2020 Annual Training – Complete Video

/ Liz Wagenseller / Leave a comment

Open records_logo stackedThe Office of Open Records held its 2020 annual training yesterday via Zoom.

Most years, our Annual Training only includes voices from the OOR. This year, the training focused on the impact of COVID-19 on the administration of Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law and Sunshine Act and we were joined by several extremely smart and knowledgeable people from outside the OOR. The complete lineup included:

  • Erik Arneson, OOR Executive Director
  • Charles Rees Brown, Esq., OOR Chief Counsel
  • Nathanael Byerly, Esq., OOR Deputy Director
  • Scott Coburn, Esq., PA State Association of Township Supervisors
  • Thomas Howell, Esq., PA Office of General Counsel Deputy General Counsel
  • Delene Lantz, Esq., OOR General Counsel
  • Melissa Melewsky, Esq., PA NewsMedia Association Media Law Counsel
  • George Spiess, OOR Chief of Outreach and Training

The complete video of the OOR’s 2020 Annual Training is available on the OOR YouTube channel (and below).

The PowerPoint presentation used during the training is available here:

OOR Annual Training – Nov. 18, 2020 (PPTX)
OOR Annual Training – Nov. 18, 2020 (PPTX)

Information about other OOR training sessions, including upcoming webinars, can be found on the OOR’s Training Calendar.

Presentation from Today’s OOR Annual Training

/ Liz Wagenseller / Leave a comment

Open records_logo stackedEarlier this afternoon, the Office of Open Records hosted its Annual Training on the RTKL and the Sunshine Act.

The PowerPoint presentation used during that session is available here:

OOR Annual Training – Nov. 18, 2020 (PPTX)
OOR Annual Training – Nov. 18, 2020 (PPTX)

We plan to provide the entire session on the OOR’s YouTube channel as soon as possible.

Information about other OOR training sessions, including upcoming webinars, can be found on the OOR’s Training Calendar.

OOR Annual Training: Today at 1:30 p.m.

/ Liz Wagenseller / Leave a comment

Open records_logo stackedThe Office of Open Records is hosting its Annual Training today (Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020) at 1:30 p.m.

This year’s session will focus on how the pandemic has affected the Right-to-Know Law and the Sunshine Act.

Scheduled panelists include:

  • Erik Arneson, OOR Executive Director
  • Charles Rees Brown, Esq., OOR Chief Counsel
  • Nathanael Byerly, Esq., OOR Deputy Director
  • Scott Coburn, Esq., PA State Association of Township Supervisors
  • Thomas Howell, Esq., PA Office of General Counsel Deputy General Counsel
  • Michael F. Krimmel, Esq., Commonwealth Court Prothonotary
  • Delene Lantz, Esq., OOR General Counsel
  • Melissa Melewsky, Esq., PA NewsMedia Association Media Law Counsel
  • George Spiess, OOR Chief of Outreach and Training

You can get more details and register for the Annual Training here. Unfortunately, CLEs are not available this year.

We plan to record today’s Annual Training to make it available on the OOR’s YouTube channel.

Information about other OOR training sessions, including upcoming webinars, can be found on the OOR’s Training Calendar.

OOR 2020 Annual Training: Nov. 18 at 1:30 p.m.

/ Liz Wagenseller / Leave a comment

Open records_logo stackedThe Office of Open Records is hosting its Annual Training on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, at 1:30 p.m.

This year’s session will focus on how the pandemic has affected the Right-to-Know Law and the Sunshine Act. It’s scheduled to include representatives of the OOR, state agencies, local agencies, and the media. There will be plenty of time for questions and answers.

You can get more details and register for the Annual Training here. Unfortunately, CLEs are not available this year.

Information about other OOR training sessions, including upcoming webinars, can be found on the OOR’s Training Calendar.

RTKL Webinar for Requesters

/ Liz Wagenseller / Leave a comment

Office of Open Records LogoThis morning, I hosted a webinar about the Right-to-Know Law designed for requesters, including members of the media and anyone interested in accessing government records in Pennsylvania.

Thank you to everyone who participated!

Here’s the PowerPoint presentation I used: The Right-to-Know Law for Requesters

The OOR regularly hosts webinars and in-person training sessions about various topics related to the Right-to-Know Law and the Sunshine Act. Check our calendar for details, and feel free to request a specific training session.

OOR Webinar Schedule for Sunshine Week 2020

/ Liz Wagenseller / Leave a comment

Office of Open Records LogoContinuing a tradition that began last year, the Office of Open Records is once again planning a series of webinars for Sunshine Week 2020 with topics related to Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law and Sunshine Act.

The OOR’s Sunshine Week 2020 webinar series currently looks like this:

March 16 (Monday)
RTKL Basics for Agency Open Records Officers
with OOR Director of Training & Outreach George Spiess

March 17 (Tuesday)
Records Retention
with Archivist Tyler Stump of the Pennsylvania State Archives

March 18 (Wednesday)
Writing an Effective RTKL Request
with OOR Executive Director Erik Arneson

March 19 (Thursday)
Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act
with OOR Director of Training & Outreach George Spiess

March 20 (Friday)
Changes to the OOR Docketing System
with OOR General Counsel Delene Lantz-Johnson

All of the webinars will begin at 10 a.m. and will include plenty of time for questions. Mark your calendar to join us!

For more details, check the OOR’s training calendar a little closer to Sunshine Week.