03/11/07

Sunshine Week 2007

Pennsylvania Freedom of Information Coalition is formed



HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A new group, the Pennsylvania Freedom of Information Coalition, has been formed to protect the right of Pennsylvania citizens to obtain public information from local governments and the state.

The founders are journalists, librarians, attorneys, educators and community group leaders.

"Our coalition is intended to be just that -- a coalition of Pennsylvania citizens from all walks of life, who share the belief that the best government is an open one," said Gayle Sproul, an attorney chosen as the group's first president.

"This is a coalition that aims to serve the average citizen of our commonwealth and give each of us open access to our government at all levels," said Sproul, from the Philadelphia firm Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz.

The coalition said it has a lot of work: Pennsylvania has consistently been ranked one of the worst states in the nation for access to government records and open meetings.

Many records that are public in other states are kept secret in Pennsylvania, including, for instance, the reasons for the firing of public school employees and the records of cell-phone calls made on taxpayer-paid phones.

The group has been granted nonprofit tax status. It received a $10,000 startup award from the National Freedom of Information Coalition through a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. It also was awarded a $5,000 donation from the funds of the former Pennsylvania First Amendment Coalition, a group formed by journalists in 1977 to fight for freedom of the press.

The coalition will use the grants to build a Web site and publish educational materials for the public. A key mission will be to educate citizens, groups and government officials about the importance of open government and how they can use their rights to get public records. The group also will help groups or citizens who run into difficulty obtaining public records.

The Pennsylvania Freedom of Information Coalition is accepting memberships, with annual dues ranging from $25 for individuals to $1,000 for large businesses. Members will receive a step-by-step "Citizen's Guide to Access," expert legal advice on questions of public access, and updates on open-records legislation and legal efforts.

In open-government cases of statewide importance, the coalition plans to help citizens obtain legal representation.

The group will also monitor proposed state and federal laws, regulations and court decisions and provide information to state officials to encourage discussion of open government improvements in Pennsylvania.

"To the extent allowed by our nonprofit status, we support reforms affecting public records," Sproul said. "There should be no shadowy corners in government. We want to let the light in."

Other members of the coalition board are: Vice President Robert Richards of Penn State University's Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment; Secretary Donald Gilliland, managing editor of the Potter Leader-Enterprise in Coudersport; treasurer Kim de Bourbon, a freelance journalist; Cathi Alloway, public services director of the Dauphin County Library; Robert Clothier, an attorney with Fox Rothschild in Philadelphia; Jim DePury, news director for WPMT-TV in central Pennsylvania; Sally Hale, chief of the Pennsylvania bureau of The Associated Press; Brian Lockman, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Cable Network; Jim Parsons, reporter for WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh, and Ernest Schreiber, editor of the Lancaster New Era.