Opening Pennsylvania Government:

Transparency Symposium

With the advent of the Internet, governments are becoming more and more transparent to the public.  To date, 15 states and the federal government maintain spending databases. In Pennsylvania, the Treasurer’s e-contract library and the improved Open Records Law, effective in January 2009, mark important progress. But Pennsylvania hasn’t yet attained the comprehensive transparency necessary for a healthy government.

Panelists will discuss what citizens, media, bloggers, and elected officials can do to help make state government more open.   The event will also feature the unveiling of the Commonwealth Foundation’s new website, PennsylvaniaVotes.org, an online library containing a layman’s description of all legislation under consideration in the General Assembly, and an overview of its School Board Transparency project.

Panelists will include: investigative journalists Jan Murphy of the Harrisburg Patriot-News, Tim Darragh of the Allentown Morning Call, and Tracie Mauriello of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; State Senator Pat Browne; good government advocates Barry Kauffman of Common Cause PA and Tim Potts of Democracy Rising PA; and Terry Henning, Esq., and Deborah Musselman of the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.  

Featuring a lunch presentation by

Terry Mutchler
Executive Director, Pennsylvania Office of Open Records

          DATE:    Tuesday, January 13
          TIME:    9:15 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
  LOCATION:    Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association Building
                       225 State St., Harrisburg, First Floor Conference Room

Registration is $10.00 to cover cost of lunch

*Reservations are requested by January 8th

Click here for the agenda and response card.

To RSVP for this event or for additional information, please contact the Commonwealth Foundation at 717.671.1901 or info@CommonwealthFoundation.org.

# # #

The Commonwealth Foundation is a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy research and educational institute located at the foot of the Capitol in Harrisburg, PA.