Right to Know Law Policy
Effective January 1, 2009
(Revised 8/1/11)
- PURPOSE.
To establish the policy of the Independent Regulatory Review
Commission (IRRC) concerning the receipt of and response to requests for legislative
records pursuant to the Right-to-Know Law (RTKL), as amended (65 P.S. §§ 67.101
– 67.3104).
- MISSION. The IRRC will respond to
requests for access to legislative records in full compliance with the
RTKL in order to assure that requesters have access to the records in a
timely, effective and efficient manner.
- PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF POLICY. This policy is
available for inspection at the IRRC Office, and is posted on the IRRC website. A copy of this policy may be obtained at no cost from the IRRC Office.
- CONTACT INFORMATION. Written, signed requests
for public information under the RTKL may be submitted as follows:
a.
Via U.S. Mail, addressed as follows:
Open Records Officer
Independent Regulatory Review Commission
333 Market Street, 14th
Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101
b.
Delivered in person to the Open
Records Officer at the address noted in above.
c.
Facsimile Transmission to (717) 783-2664.
d.
Electronic Transmission addressed to RTKofficer@irrc.state.pa.us.
- DEFINITIONS. All terms defined by the RTKL
shall have the meaning assigned by the statute. Other terms relevant to
this policy have the following meanings:
a.
Appeal. A written document filed with the Appeals Officer by a
requester challenging the denial or deemed
denial of a request by IRRC’s Open Records Officer.
b.
Appeals Officer. The official so designated by the Legislative Reference
Bureau pursuant to Section 503 of the RTKL (65 P.S. § 67.503(c)).
c.
Business day. Any day other than a Saturday or Sunday, except those days
when the offices of the Commission are closed for all or part of a day due to:
1)
A legal holiday;
2)
A day declared a holiday by the Office
of Administration; or
3)
Any day IRRC is officially closed.
d. Deemed denied. A
request is deemed denied if one of the following conditions occurs, subject to
extensions as agreed to by the requester:
1)
The Open Records Officer fails to
respond within five business days following receipt of a request for access to
a legislative record;
2)
The Open Records Officer extends the five
business day period by up to 30 calendar days, but then fails to respond by the
end of the extended 30 calendar day period; or
3)
The Open Records Officer notifies the
requester that additional time in excess of the 30 calendar day period is
required for response.
e. IRRC.
Independent Regulatory Review Commission,
a legislative agency.
f. Legislative
record. As defined in Section 102 of the RTKL (65 P.S. § 67.102) and
includes a financial record, fiscal notes, the minutes of and record of
attendance of members at a public hearing or meeting, the transcript of a
public hearing when available, any administrative staff manuals or written
policies, an annual audit report prepared pursuant to the act of June 30, 1970
(P.L. 442, No. 151), final or annual reports required by law to be submitted to
the General Assembly, a record communicating to an agency the official
appointment of a legislative appointee, a record communicating to the
appointing authority the resignation of a legislative appointee, proposed
regulations final-form regulations and final-omitted regulations submitted to a
legislative agency.
g. Mailing date. The
date affixed to IRRC’s response to a request, which is the same date that the
response is deposited in the U.S. Mail. For a person submitting a request or exceptions
to the Open Records Officer’s denial of a request, the transmission date
affixed to a facsimile, the date stamp affixed by the Open Records Officer to a
request or exceptions delivered in person, or the date of the postmark on the
envelope in which the request or exceptions is enclosed. If the postmark is
illegible or if there is no postmark, the mailing date is deemed to be the
first business day that immediately precedes the date on which the request or exceptions
are received by the Open Records Officer..
h. Open Records Officer. The Communications Manager, who will receive and respond to
RTKL requests.
i. Redaction. The
eradication of the non-public portion of a record while retaining the
remainder.
j.
Request. A written request for access to a legislative record submitted
by a requester to the Open Records Officer pursuant to the RTKL.
k.
Requester. Any individual or entity that requests access to a legislative
record pursuant to the RTKL.
l.
RTKL. The Right to Know Law (65 P.S. §§ 67.101 – 67.3104).
- PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING RTKL REQUESTS.
a.
Receipt. The Open Records Officer will receive requests submitted
to the IRRC, and issue interim and final responses.
b.
Denial. A request for legislative records will be denied unless
it is in writing and contains the following:
1)
The full name and signature of the
requester;
2)
The address to which the response is to
be sent;
3)
The daytime telephone number where the
requester can be reached;
4)
The fax number of the requester, if
any; and
5)
A description of the documents with
sufficient specificity in order to enable the Open Records Officer to ascertain
specifically what documents are requested.
c.
Calculation of the Five Business
Day Period. The five business day period does not begin to run until the
Open Records Officer receives a request. For purposes of determining the end
of the five business day period, the first day is IRRC’s next business day
after the RTKL Official receives a request.
d.
Receipt by a Person Other Than
the Open Records Officer. If a Commissioner or an employee of IRRC, other than the Open
Records Officer, receives a request, that person will, within a reasonable
time, either return the request to the requester or forward the request to the Open
Records Officer. If the request is returned to the requester, the person who
returns it will inform the requester that the request must be sent to the Open
Records Officer and will provide the requester with the name and address of the
Open Records Officer.
e.
Processing of Requests. Upon receipt of a request, the Open Records Officer will:
1)
Date stamp the request;
2)
Assign a tracking number to the
request;
3)
Record the request in the IRRC tracking system;
4)
Compute the day when the five business
day period will expire and note that day on the request;
5)
Make an electronic copy of the request,
including the envelope, email or facsimile cover sheet which was submitted with
the request; and
6)
Create a file for the retention of the
original request, a copy of the response provided, and a record of verbal or
written communications with the requester and a copy of other communications.
f.
Business Hours. The regular business hours of the Open Records Officer are 8:30
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A request received by the Open Records Officer after the
close of regular business hours shall be deemed to have been received on the
following business day.
g.
Initial Review. Upon receiving a request, the Open Records Officer will
determine whether:
1)
The records sought by the requester are
identified with sufficient specificity;
2)
The requested records are within the RTKL’s
definition of “legislative records;”
3)
The requested records are in the
possession or control of the IRRC;
4)
The RTKL request may be granted, in
whole or in part, without further consideration.
h.
Contact with Requester. The Open Records Officer may contact the requester in
order to obtain clarification or additional information. A copy of written
correspondence to or from the requester will become a part of the RTKL file. If
contact is verbal, either in person or by telephone, the Open Records Officer will
immediately reduce the conversation to writing and include the written record
of the conversation in the file. If, as a part of any such contact, the Open
Records Officer concludes that the requester has changed his or her request,
the Open Records Officer will obtain the requester’s oral or written
concurrence and will record and retain in the file a record of that concurrence.
If the result of the modification is a more specific explanation of the
original request or a reduction of that request, the modification will not be
considered a new request. If, however, the modification results in a request
for different or additional documents, it will be treated as a new request as
to those documents.
i.
Prepayment of Fees. The Open Records Officer will determine whether the
estimated fees required to fulfill the request exceed $100. If so, the Open
Records Officer will present the requester with a written demand for prepayment
by certified check or money order. The demand for prepayment will specify a
reasonable period of time in which the requester must make such prepayment. If
the requester fails to make prepayment within the specified time, the Open
Records Officer may deny the request on that basis.
j.
Responses to Requests. For the purposes of the RTKL, a “response” to a request is
either:
1)
Providing a requester with access to a legislative
record, within five days, either in the offices of IRRC or by sending a copy to
the requester by First Class Mail, facsimile or electronic transmission; or
2)
A written explanation sent by the Open
Records Officer to the requester, within five days, by First Class Mail,
facsimile or electronic transmission, explaining why timely access cannot be
provided.
k.
Physical Access to Records.
1)
The Open Records Officer will determine,
at his or her discretion, the room where legislative records will be made
available to a requester.
2)
Legislative records will be accessible
for inspection by a requester during the regular working hours of the Open
Records Officer. In the case of a legislative record that is available only
through electronic means, the Open Records Officer will provide access at a
computer terminal in the IRRC office, under supervision, as deemed appropriate,
to prevent access to information which is not a legislative record.
3)
A legislative record will be provided
to a requester in the medium requested if the record exists in that medium. Otherwise,
the record will be provided in the medium in which it exists. If a legislative
record only exists in one medium, the Open Records Officer will not convert
that record to another medium, except that where the record is only available
in electronically and the requestor is unwilling or unable to access it in that
format, the Open Records Officer will convert the record to paper.
4)
The RTKL Official will not create a legislative
record that does not already exist, nor will he or she compile, maintain,
format or organize the record in a manner in which records are not currently
maintained at the IRRC.
l.
Interim Response. An interim response is written notice from the Open Records
Officer to the requester that additional time will be required in order to
provide the legislative records requested. The interim response may be hand
delivered or sent by First Class Mail, facsimile or electronic transmission.
The Open Records Officer will send the interim response to the requester before
the end of the five business day period. The interim response will contain the
following information:
1)
A statement notifying the requester
that the request for access is being reviewed; and
2)
An approximate date within a reasonable
period of time when a response is expected to be provided. This date will not exceed
30 calendar days from the end of the five business day period.
m.
Reasons for Extension of Time. The Open Records Officer may obtain an extension of time
in which to provide a final response for any of the following reasons:
1)
Redaction of portions of the legislative
record is required;
2)
The request for access requires the
retrieval of a record stored in a remote location;
3)
A response within the five business days
cannot be accomplished due to bona fide staffing limitations at the IRRC, including those resulting from business disruptions caused by weather and other
occurrences;
4)
The requester has not complied with
this policy or the RTKL regarding access to public records;
5) A legal review is necessary to determine whether the record
requested is a legislative record as defined by the RTKL; or
6) The requester refuses to pay applicable fees authorized
by the RTKL. If prepayment of fees is required by the Open Records Officer,
the time period for response shall be tolled from the time the demand for
payment is made until such time as payment is actually received.
n. Final
Responses.
1)
The Open Records Officer may provide
one of the following written final responses to a request:
i)
Grant the entire request.
ii)
Deny the entire request.
iii)
Grant part of the request but deny the
remainder.
2)
The failure of the Open Records Officer
to make a timely final response is a deemed denial.
3)
The Open Records Officer will grant the
request if:
i).
The request is within the RTKL
definition of a legislative record.
ii).
The request is not within the RTKL
definition of a legislative record but the Executive Director or the Chief
Counsel has directed the Open Records Officer to provide access to the
requested record. In that case the Open Records Officer will include a
statement in the final response that provision of the record does not
constitute an admission that the record is a legislative record.
4)
If a request is denied in whole or in
part, the RTKL Open Records Officer’s final response will include the
following:
i)
A description of the record requested.
ii)
The specific reasons for the denial,
including a citation of supporting legal authority. If the denial is the
result of a determination that the record requested is not a public record, the
specific reasons for the determination that the record is not a legislative record
shall be included.
iii)
The procedure to appeal the denial of
access under the RTKL and this Policy.
o. Electronic Access. The Open Records Officer will determine
which records, if any, will be made available electronically.
p. Redaction. If
only portions of a record are legislative records, the Open Records Officer will
redact the portions that are not legislative records and provide access to the
portions that are public records.
q. Duplication of Legislative Records. The Open Records Officer will make copies of the records
provided to a requester. A requester may not use IRRC equipment to make copies
or bring personal equipment to the IRRC office to make copies.
7. APPEALS. All
appeals must be filed in accordance with the statement of policy implemented by
the Legislative Reference Bureau (found at http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/101/chapter31/101_0031.pdf).
- FEES AND CHARGES. The following
fees will be charged for photocopies.
a.
One standard 8.5” x 11” page - $.25.
b.
One irregularly sized page - $.50.
c. Certified Copies. A fee of $5.00 per document will be charged for
certification, in addition
to the per copy fee.
d. Delivery. The following fees will be charged
for delivery:
1) Material fitting into standard letter envelope,
weighing one ounce or less, and sent by First Class U.S. Mail – No Charge.
2) Other
means of delivery – Actual Cost.
e. Other
Costs. Reasonable fees may be charged for
labor and other expenses
necessary
to comply with the request for access to, or copying of, requested records, but
not for determining whether requested records are legislative records required
to be provided to the requester pursuant to the RTKL.