For Immediate Release
December 22, 2008
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Senator Folmer to Host Right To Know Seminar at HACC Lebanon Campus

HARRISBURG - As the January 2009 implementation date for the new PA Right To Know Law approaches, State Senator Mike Folmer (48) will host an informational seminar on the new law. The event will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, January 10, 2009, at the HACC Lebanon Campus and will feature Terry Mutchler, Executive Director of Pennsylvania’s Office of Open Records, and related legal experts Craig J. Staudenmaier; J. Stephen Feinour; and Guy P. Beneventano. The event is open to the public.

"Open access to public records is fundamental to democracy and it is important for government agencies at every level to understand the full ramifications of the new law," said Senator Folmer.  "That is why I gathered this panel of experts, including Ms. Mutchler, and appreciate that they will provide a compliance seminar to assist the many government agencies serving Lebanon, Berks, Dauphin, Chester and Lancaster Counties."

"The program will address an array of issues of importance to state, county and local governmental agencies who must now, under the new requirements of the law, provide public access to public records in a timely fashion," Senator Folmer added.

"Agencies now have the burden to establish why a record should not be released to the public," Ms. Mutchler, an attorney and former journalist, commented.  "The old law put the burden on a requestor to establish why any record was a public record. In preparation for this new environment of public access, at the very least, government agencies should have appointed a Right To Know Officer by now, and have policy in place to handle public requests for information."

Based on experience under similar laws in Illinois and other states, "governmental agencies, particularly at the County, Borough, City and Township levels, can anticipate an increase in the volume of citizen inquiries for public information under the new law early next year," RTK expert and Harrisburg attorney, Craig Staudenmaier, said. "The emphasis should be on agency compliance policy right now to avoid what could lead to quite costly litigation later."
Mr. Staudenmaier Chairs the Nauman Smith law firm RTK Practice Group, which includes business and corporate attorney J. Stephen Feinour, Esq., county and municipal attorney Guy P. Beneventano, Esq.

For more information about the Right To Know Seminar, contact Senator Folmer’s Office, 717-274-6735. For more information about the new PA Right To Law, visit the Office of Open Records at, http://openrecords.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?. For compliance information and legal opinion, visit, http://www.nssh.com/practice-areas/right-to-know.php.  For information and directions to HACC Lebanon Campus, visit http://www.hacc.edu.

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