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Wolf needs to sign; stop keeping secrets from public

One of the most disturbing aspects of Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration during the coronavirus pandemic was his (and by extension, his administration’s) refusal to obey the state’s Right to Know Law when his disaster declaration went into effect.

The government essentially began operating in secret in March. When requests for information were made under the law, the answer was that the offices were closed — because the governor closed them — and they would not even look at the requests until the offices reopened.

In a few days, he may have no say over the matter.

Both houses of Pennsylvania’s legislature have passed House Bill 2463, by overwhelming veto-proof margins, and sent the bill to Wolf’s desk Wednesday. It says the governor may not direct a Commonwealth agency to ignore requests for records or suspend the Commonwealth agency’s process to answer a request for records during a disaster declaration.

In other words, no more hiding the beneficiaries of your waiver program — among other things.

The bill also prevents state agencies from changing their process in an effort to avoid the law. Requests may be denied only under the existing Right to Know rules.

Specifically identified as public data are any actions or policies related to the disaster declaration.

Seems reasonable, right? We sure think so. But the Wolf administration isn’t on board.

At a press conference earlier this week, Wolf stated that he believes there are problems with the bill and would not sign it, according to the Pennsylvania Newsmedia Association.

That would be a big mistake. Considering the overwhelming support this had in the legislature, a veto — the governor has until July 26 to decide — can only be seen as once again thumbing his nose at the citizens of Pennsylvania.

He had time to address concerns to the legislature, which had the first version of this bill two months ago. He had time to show concern when he was refusing to answer questions three months ago. He clearly was not concerned when he began operating in secret four months ago.

As PNA notes, when the COVID pandemic began, the Wolf administration stopped answering Right To Know Law requests. After pressure from the press and the move toward the green phase, the administration started to answer requests. This law is necessary because if the state moves back to a yellow or red, the administration could decide to stop answering these crucial requests again.

This bill needs to be law. And if the governor is unwilling to do the right thing, the state House and Senate need to be ready to repeat their vote and do it for him.

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