Some lofty goals for Pa. government

1/1/2008 3:33 AM

We've made a habit of avoiding discussion of New Year's resolutions in this space, mainly because so many of them are silly, unrealistic and rarely carried out. But we've come across a short list of suggested resolutions for Pennsylvania state government that's worth passing along to our readers. It comes from Democracy Rising (www.democracyrisingpa.com), a nonprofit organization that strives for integrity in public service.

Resolved:

n To enact the best open-records law in America;

n To enact the best lobbying-control law in America;

n To enact the best campaign-finance law in America;

n To enact the best election legislation in America.

If our state Legislature were to place integrity over job security and personal profit, these goals might not seem so laughingly impossible.

Our legislators may be close to passing a new open-records law, but will it be America's best? According to Democracy Rising, Nebraska's law is currently the nation's best, both for the openness it guarantees and the act's simplicity; it is just six pages long, compared with the 45 pages of exceptions to the law in Pennsylvania's bill.

But there's always hope, especially in the optimistic atmosphere of New Year's Day.