The Right To Know Law (RTKL) is a good thing, an important measure to aid in openness and transparency in government. It is also a statute that has evolved over the years. Exemptions have been made when an issue has been identified as a legitimate cause for revision. I am introducing a bill to address such an issue.
 
Historical Documents and artifacts – such as those stored in the State Archives - are often times fragile and cannot hold up to the process of duplication. They require highly specialized procedures to be copied. As an example, there are historical maps that can reach over 20 feet in length. Some of these historical documents can also contain sensitive, third-party provided personal information. As an appointee to the PA Historical Museum Commission, I’ve worked closely with the Commission in coming up with a solution.
 
My legislation will allow the Commission flexibility in addressing certain RTKL requests. It will allow them to deny requests if the information is publicly available elsewhere or if it contains personal, non-proprietary information. If a document is not publicly available, it clarifies that the Commission can charge appropriate fees for the added costs that properly handling historical documents entails.