Date
Mar 13, 2024
Location
Harrisburg
Contact
Teresa Shaak
Phone
717-703-3003
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
9 a.m. – Noon
The State Archives
1681 N. Sixth St., Harrisburg, PA 17102-1106
Virtual option is available.
Join us as we recognize Sunshine Week, a national celebration of government transparency laws throughout the country. We’ll review updates to Pennsylvania’s open meetings and open records laws as well as hear from all the Office of Open Records executive directors.
Panelists have provided helpful resources for participants review and use:
Brought to you by the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, Pennsylvania Bar Association Bar/Press Committee and the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Foundation.
CLE credits are available for in-person and virtual attendees. To receive CLE credits for attending the Sunshine Week Summit, please return the completed CLE form below to Scott Coburn from PSATS at the event or by email to scoburn@psats.org. PSATS will then issue you an invoice for $15/credit hour.
Agenda
8:30 – 9 a.m. Registration and coffee
9 – 9:15 a.m. Welcome
Barbara Hough Huesken, director of legislative affairs, Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association
9:15 – 10 a.m. Sunshine Act Update
Learn more about the state’s open meetings law, the Sunshine Act. This discussion will include a review of recent Commonwealth Court decisions. Valuable tips and trends essential for both legal practitioners and news organizations will be shared.
Panelists:
Scott Coburn, Esq., education director/counsel, Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors
Melissa Bevan Melewsky, Esq., media law counsel, Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association
Craig Staudenmaier, Esq., of counsel, Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC
Moderator: Paula Knudsen Burke, Esq., local legal initiative attorney – PA, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
10 – 11 a.m. Investigative Journalists & the Right-to-Know Law
We’ll hear from seasoned investigative reporters who explain the challenges they’ve had in obtaining records as well as best practices for getting information that is deemed public, but often shrouded in secrecy.
Panelists:
Joshua Vaughn, investigative/enterprise reporter, PennLive/The Patriot-News
Min Xian, local accountability reporter, Spotlight PA
Jan Murphy, state government reporter, PennLive/The Patriot-News
Moderator: Liz Wagenseller, executive director, OOR
11 a.m. – 12 noon – The First Fifteen
The “new” Right-to-Know Law was signed in 2008 with the Office of Open Records beginning its work the next year. Let’s hear how things have changed over the last 15 years. All three OOR executive directors – past and present – will reflect.
Directors:
Terry Mutchler, 2008 – 2015
Erik Arneson, 2015 – 2021
Liz Wagenseller, 2021 – present
Moderator: Brad Bumsted, retired Harrisburg bureau chief for LNP | LancasterOnline and The Caucus
This valuable workshop is provided at no cost, but pre-registration is required using the form below. Please indicate if you plan to attend at The Archives or will participate virtually through Microsoft Teams. Confirmations with Teams log in instructions and additional details will be emailed to all registrants on March 12.
Directions and Parking instructions available on the PA Historical and Museum Commission website.
Brought to you by the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, Pennsylvania Bar Association Bar/Press Committee and the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Foundation.
Brought to you by the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, Pennsylvania Bar Association Bar/Press Committee and the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Foundation.
In collaboration with PSATS and thanks for their CLE sponsorship.
Attorneys, please note: Thanks to the PA State Association of Township Supervisors, continuing legal education credits will be offered to attorneys who attend and/or present on March 13. This summit has been approved by the Pennsylvania Continuing Legal Education Board for 2½ CLE credits. The fee is $15/credit hour; forms and payment will be handled onsite.