EDITORIAL: Public confidence requires transparency
Obeying the law is the lowest common denominator of basic citizenship. Yet many politicians and government officeholders often portray legality as the full scope of their public duty.
It’s disappointing that Gov. Josh Shapiro has invoked the minimal requirements of the state’s Open Records Law in declining to divulge the details of his calendar.
Shapiro’s office releases his schedule each day, but that is far less informative than a calendar that would identify the groups and individuals with whom he meets, thus providing insight into priorities and policies.
After a Republican advocacy group sought Shapiro’s calendars, the governors’ lawyers argued before the Office of Open Records that the documents are personal and don’t have an official purpose.
The OOR, citing precedents decided by the Commonwealth Court, denied the records request.
The Open Records Law is a minimal standard. Although it does not require Shapiro to release the requested information, it also does not preclude him from doing so. Shapiro’s predecessor, former Gov. Tom Wolf, regularly released his calendars.
Shapiro otherwise has embraced secrecy, including having transition team members sign nondisclosure agreements and declining to identify donors who funded his inaugural celebration.
He should recognize that long-term public confidence requires transparency beyond the bare minimum for legality.
Meanwhile, a state board overseeing spending of more than $1 billion from the national opioid settlement operates with far less transparency than that required of other public bodies.
The Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust met publicly for the first time in March. But it had met secretly multiple times since July 2022, during which members voted to hire a bank, discussed how counties may spend the money, and waived counties’ responsibility to be transparent about their own spending. The court order creating the trust requires it to operate under the Sunshine Act, which requires public agencies to conduct public meetings.
And, of course, the board claims it is not subject to the Open Records Law because the Commonwealth Court did not specifically include that provision in creating the board.
The opioid epidemic is a pressing public health emergency. It’s clear from the board’s secrecy that it is the grip of its own epidemic of hubris.