Questions of transparency in Pennsylvania

Government transparency and the public right to know is a standard to which we hold public officials accountable. Recent examples in Pennsylvania illustrate the consequences when that standard fails.

Earlier this month, the discovery that the Pennsylvania Department of State had failed to publicly advertise a proposed constitutional amendment referendum to extend legal recourse for victims of sexual abuse resulted in the amendment proposal becoming ineligible for a statewide ballot. The error set back the amendment process by more than a year.

The administrative oversight caused then-Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar to resign and caused victims of childhood sexual assaults renewed pain at the delay in justice. The error, discovered by SpotlightPA reporting, was a painful example of the damage caused by failing to adhere to the rules of public notice.

But in the wake of that discovery, Gov. Tom Wolf “declined to provide additional details of exactly what occurred, how it happened, who else was responsible for the error, and whether any other disciplinary action or terminations had resulted,” SpotlightPA reporter Angela Couloumbis reported.

The department did not respond to several requests for information about which offices and staffers within the department were in charge of advertising constitutional amendments, including four proposed changes that the agency properly advertised within the past year, Spotlight reported.

“A spokesperson for Wolf, a Democrat who has frequently said transparency is a core priority, said the governor would work with the inspector general to make the results of the inquiry public. It is not known how long the investigation will take,” Spotlight reported.

In our view, the failure to divulge the details — and future remedy — for this error constitute a violation of upholding transparency. The amendment advertisement isn’t the only failure of the Wolf administration on this front.

According to information provided by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, the administration also failed to properly advertise public hearings regarding the proposed rulemaking of the Environmental Quality Board’s CO2 Budget Trading Program, also known as the Regional Greenhouse

Gas Initiative.

“The Air Pollution Control Act requires public notice to be provided ‘in newspapers of general circulation in the region of the Commonwealth affected’,” wrote PNA President Brad Simpson in a letter to DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell, noting since this affects all Pennsylvanians, hearings needed to be advertised in all 67 counties.

Among the counties where advertisements were not placed were Montgomery and Chester counties.

“Governor Wolf states that ‘Climate change is the most critical environmental threat confronting the world, and power generation is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Given the urgency of the climate crisis facing Pennsylvania and the entire planet, the commonwealth must continue to take concrete, economically sound and immediate steps to reduce emissions. RGGI will give us that opportunity to better protect the health and safety of our citizens,’” Simpson wrote.

“In Executive Order 201907, Governor Wolf explicitly directed the Department to conduct a robust public outreach effort while developing this rulemaking,” the DEP website states. “... But DEP placed only a few notices and held virtual only public hearings both of which may have excluded many Pennsylvanians,” Simpson wrote.

“Public notices inform the community about life-changing government actions before those actions are taken,” he continued. “In-person hearings allow Pennsylvanians a chance to witness and participate in the formation of public policy.”

Simpson cited the statistics which show that online-only processes eliminate access for nearly 25% of Pennsylvanians who do not use the Internet.

“Newspapers are the primary channel for communicating matters of such critical public importance to those residents,” he wrote.

Our challenge to the Wolf administration and to all government agencies — local and state — remains steadfast as a commitment to transparency and an informed public. These recent mistakes are egregious in their effects; compounding them with a failure to disclose details and remedies is inexcusable. The citizens of Pennsylvania deserve better.

This newspaper is a member of Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association professional organization for news media.