{
  "id": "1995-may-you-may-have-a-friend-in-pa",
  "slug": "1995-may-you-may-have-a-friend-in-pa",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1995-may-you-may-have-a-friend-in-pa.html",
  "year": 1995,
  "month": "May",
  "monthNum": 5,
  "headline": "You may have a friend in Pa.",
  "kicker": "The long fight for electronic records",
  "author_name": "Bob Warner",
  "author_title": "Reporter",
  "affiliation": "Philadelphia Daily News",
  "summary": "Pennsylvania's outdated 1957 public records law fails to address electronic access to government documents, as demonstrated by the Philadelphia Daily News's 18-month legal battle to obtain an electronic employee payroll list. Governor Tom Ridge has signaled support for modernizing the law to ensure electronic documents are as accessible as paper records, but the state Senate has resisted such transparency reforms.",
  "keywords": [
    "Pennsylvania",
    "records",
    "transparency"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Government & Politics",
    "Data & Databases",
    "Investigative Methods"
  ],
  "technologies": [],
  "full_text": "Whatever's happening in Washington, the information revolution is slower in some state capitals.\n\nIt took 18 months, a lawsuit, and a new Pennsylvania governor for the Philadelphia Daily News to secure an electronic list of 82,034 state employees -- the same information that's been available to the public for years on microfiche at the state library in Harrisburg.\n\nFormer Gov. Robert P. Casey refused to provide a computer tape of the state payroll, with no explanation beyond saying he was satisfied with the old arrangements. The Daily News sued in Commonwealth Court and Casey stalled. He left office January. His successor, Gov. Tom Ridge, settled the case by turning over the computer tape three weeks after taking office.\n\nPennsylvania reporters remain hampered by a 1957 public records law that doesn't mention computers, requiring only that public officials establish \"reasonable rules\" for providing copies of public documents. The Allentown Morning Call's Jack Kraft and David Washburn recently reported on the trouble this has meant for local governments, citizen groups and journalists throughout the state.\n\nRidge said during his 1994 campaign that if a government document is considered public when it's on paper, then the same information should be accessible to the public in electronic formats, technology permitting. State legislator Stewart Greenleaf has sponsored legislation to that effect. But to become law, it needs approval from a state Senate that still denies the public even paper copies of Senate payroll and expense records.\n\nBob Warner can be reached at (215) 854-5885 or send e-mail to bwarner@omni.voicenet.com.",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "extracted_at": "2026-07-05",
    "verified": true
  },
  "similar": [
    {
      "slug": "1994-july-pennsylvania-suit-seeks-to-treat-tapes-public-records",
      "score": 0.281
    },
    {
      "slug": "1995-may-access-tight-for-electronic-records",
      "score": 0.234
    },
    {
      "slug": "1995-september-indiana-goes-electric",
      "score": 0.228
    },
    {
      "slug": "1994-august-the-car-lot-munster-ind",
      "score": 0.225
    },
    {
      "slug": "1998-december-we-dont-file-out-tapes",
      "score": 0.22
    }
  ],
  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1995-may-you-may-have-a-friend-in-pa.html",
  "json_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1995-may-you-may-have-a-friend-in-pa.json"
}