Skip to main content
Find a Lawyer

Pennsylvania Statutes Title 65 P.S. Public Officers § 67.1310. Office of Open Records

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Department of Community and Economic Development an Office of Open Records. The office shall do all of the following:

(1) Provide information relating to the implementation and enforcement of this act.

(2) Issue advisory opinions to agencies and requesters.

(3) Provide annual training courses to agencies, public officials and public employees on this act and 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 7 (relating to open meetings).

(4) Provide annual, regional training courses to local agencies, public officials and public employees.

(5) Assign appeals officers to review appeals of decisions by Commonwealth agencies or local agencies, except as provided in section 503(d),  1 filed under section 1101  2 and issue orders and opinions. The office shall employ or contract with attorneys to serve as appeals officers to review appeals and, if necessary, to hold hearings on a regional basis under this act. Each appeals officer must comply with all of the following:

(i) Complete a training course provided by the Office of Open Records prior to acting as an appeals officer.

(ii) If a hearing is necessary, hold hearings regionally as necessary to ensure access to the remedies provided by this act.

(iii) Comply with the procedures under section 1102(b). 3

(6) Establish an informal mediation program to resolve disputes under this act.

(7) Establish an Internet website with information relating to this act, including information on fees, advisory opinions and decisions and the name and address of all open records officers in this Commonwealth.

(8) Conduct a biannual review of fees charged under this act.

(9) Annually report on its activities and findings to the Governor and the General Assembly. The report shall be posted and maintained on the Internet website established under paragraph (7).

(b) Executive director.--Within 90 days of the effective date of this section, the Governor shall appoint an executive director of the office who shall serve for a term of six years. Compensation shall be set by the Executive Board established under section 204  4 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P. L. 177, No. 175), known as The Administrative Code of 1929. The executive director may serve no more than two terms.

(c) Limitation.--The executive director shall not seek election nor accept appointment to any political office during his tenure as executive director and for one year thereafter.

(d) Staffing.--The executive director shall appoint attorneys to act as appeals officers and additional clerical, technical and professional staff as may be appropriate and may contract for additional services as necessary for the performance of the executive director's duties. The compensation of attorneys and other staff shall be set by the Executive Board. The appointment of attorneys shall not be subject to the act of October 15, 1980 (P.L. 950, No. 164),  5 known as the Commonwealth Attorneys Act.

(e) Duties.--The executive director shall ensure that the duties of the Office of Open Records are carried out and shall monitor cases appealed to the Office of Open Records.

(f) Appropriation.--The appropriation for the office shall be in a separate line item and shall be under the jurisdiction of the executive director.

1 65 P.S. § 67.503.
2 65 P.S. § 67.1101.
3 65 P.S. § 67.1102.
4 71 P.S. § 64.
5 71 P.S. § 732-101 et seq.
Previous Part of Code Next Part of Code
Back to Chapter List

Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Pennsylvania Statutes Title 65 P.S. Public Officers § 67.1310. Office of Open Records - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/pa/title-65-ps-public-officers/pa-st-sect-65-67-1310/

FindLaw Codes may not reflect the most recent version of the law in your jurisdiction. Please verify the status of the code you are researching with the state legislature before relying on it for your legal needs.

Was this helpful?

Welcome to FindLaw's Cases & Codes

A free source of state and federal court opinions, state laws, and the United States Code. For more information about the legal concepts addressed by these cases and statutes, visit FindLaw’s Learn About the Law.

Go to Learn About the Law

Latest Blog Posts

For Legal Professionals

Learn About The Law

Get help with your legal needs

FindLaw’s Learn About the Law features thousands of informational articles to help you understand your options. And if you’re ready to hire an attorney, find one in your area who can help.

Go to Learn About the Law

Need to Find an Attorney?

Search our directory by legal issue

Enter information in one or both fields (Required)

Copied to clipboard