FOI gone to the dogs in Pa.

Last weekend at the National FOI Coalition Summit in Seattle, a journalist lamented the poor state of Pennsylvania's records law. There a record is presumed off limits unless the requester can show otherwise. So here's an interesting juxtaposition of news. Gov. Rendell trumpets the fact that he put a database of dog kennel inspections online, while Penn State lawyers argue that salaries of people in that institution's ivory towers should remain an official secret. Here's what Rendell's press release said:

"HARRISBURG, Pa., May 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania consumers now can access timely, complete inspection records for the state's 2,600 licensed dog kennels, Governor Edward G. Rendell said today. The new online database is part of the Governor's commitment to improving conditions for dogs in the state."

How about improving the condition of democracy in the state and reform Pennsylvania's records law? For starters, Rendell could order Penn State to put a list of employees and salaries in the schools library or post them online. That's how most public universities do it.

But that's just a start. Rendell could score a lot of political points by becoming the leader who makes Pennsylvania government transparent. Pennsylvania journalists and activists have a lot of good ideas to help. After he signs the reform into law he could write a press release that really makes a difference to people (and maybe even dogs) in the Keystone state.

Joel Campbell