The open records law has been viewed by most as a step toward transparency and accountability. But it has its problems. That’s why state Sen. Lloyd Smucker and other lawmakers in the Senate State Government Committee are proposing some changes.
The first area to be updated deals with how the law applied to the four state-related universities — Penn State, Temple, Pittsburgh and Lincoln. The committee unanimously agreed Wednesday that those schools will be required to create searchable and downloadable databases on their freely accessible public websites.