Wolf sides with transparency in allowing Right-to-Know bill to become law

Saying he was “erring on the side of transparency,” Gov. Tom Wolf allowed legislation requiring his administration to process Right-to-Know Law requests during emergency declarations to become law without his signature.

Wolf previously said he would veto the legislation.

Unanimously approved in both chambers, House Bill 2463 requires all agencies to fulfill and respond to Right-to-Know requests, even during emergency declarations such as the one earlier this year that shut down state offices.

In a statement Sunday, Wolf said, since the bill was introduced, his administration “has expressed deep concerns with forcing commonwealth employees to physically come to an office to process records requests under dangerous conditions. We have gone above and beyond to provide information to the Legislature and public throughout the pandemic, including the data that drive​ our decision making.”

Calling the legislation “ill-conceived and poorly drafted,” Wolf said the state’s Office of Open Records assured him it will write guidelines to keep state employees safe.

Wolf said his understanding of the legislation is that it clarifies that data and models related to a disaster declaration are public records unless they are exempt from release under the existing law.

Wolf said state agencies have been processing and responding to records requests for months, and that offices had reopened and were processing requests as the bill made its way through the Legislature.

“This bill is no more than a talking point for many in the General Assembly, and it is long past time for mere talking about government transparency; it is time for exemplifying it, in particular as we continue to address the pandemic,” Wolf said.

Wolf said the Legislature’s Republican majority has exempted itself from any meaningful right-to-know process, using “legislative privilege” to block release of information.

“Now, I am calling on them to apply the same basic transparency that they expect of the other branches of government to themselves,” Wolf said. “Legislation should be passed to make the Right-to-Know Law applicable to the General Assembly, and allow for the Legislature to voluntarily provide information requested via the RTK law to media and other interested citizens just as they ask the other branches of government to do.”