Open Records Fees Killed

Pennsylvania agencies will not charge for labor expenses when people start making public records requests in the new year. The Governor had initially said there would be a fee for finding the file and redacting any non-public information. That brought the ire of the head of the state's new Office of Open Records, who said the charges would open the door to abuse and corruption. Other free records advocates complained the fees could push the price of the documents beyond what most people could afford. Governor Ed Rendell's spokesman Chuck Ardo says the state will now monitor those costs and determine exactly what they are. The state's new open records law goes into effect January 1st.