When the criminal charges against Jerry Sandusky were announced, people scrambled to find out when Penn State officials had learned about the monstrous acts alleged and what they had done about them. The public quickly discovered this information could be hidden forever because the state’s flagship university is exempt from Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Law. Its records are completely outside the public’s reach.

While many Pennsylvanians and citizens across the United States are more or less riveted by the allegations of child abuse that are still-unfolding at Penn State, some have also called for more transparency at Penn State. In fact, the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association published a guest editorial in the Patriot-News in June of 2007, urging legislators and Penn State officials alike to acknowledge the school’s central identity as a Pennsylvania institution.

The editorial pages in many of our member newspapers were buzzing this week about HB 633 in advance of today’s hearing before the House Local Government Committee.

The Commonwealth Court ordered public disclosure of dispatch locations in 911 time response logs as well as access to public records in the possession of government contractors performing a government function.