IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, :

Department of Transportation, :

Petitioner :

:

v. : No. 246 C.D. 2016

: Argued: September 15, 2016

Walsh/Granite JV, :

Respondent :

BEFORE: HONORABLE PATRICIA A. McCULLOUGH, Judge

HONORABLE JOSEPH M. COSGROVE, Judge

HONORABLE DAN PELLEGRINI, Senior Judge

OPINION BY

SENIOR JUDGE PELLEGRINI FILED: October 31, 2016

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation 

(PennDOT) petitions for review of a Final Determination of the Office of Open 

Records (OOR) granting in part and denying in part Walsh/Granite JV’s 

(Requestor) request seeking copies of all bids submitted to PennDOT to repair or 

maintain structurally deficient bridges in Pennsylvania pursuant to the Right-toKnow Law (RTKL).

1

 

1 Act of February 14, 2008, P.L. 6, 65 P.S. §§ 67.101–67.3104.
2

I.

A.

Under the RTKL, information is only subject to disclosure if it is a 

“public record.” Excluded from the RTKL definition of “public record” is 

information exempted from disclosure by any other law. See 65 P.S. § 67.102; see 

also 65 P.S. § 67.305. While normally after the conclusion of the bidding process

all proposals and bids are potential public records under the RTKL,2the issue in 

this case is whether Section 9111 of the Public-Private Transportation Partnership 

Law (P3 Law),

3

74 Pa.C.S. § 9111, exempts unsuccessful proposals from 

disclosure because it only specifically provides for the disclosure of the successful 

 

2

Section 708(b)(26) of the RTKL provides an exemption to the disclosure of certain 

proposals and bids pertaining to the bidding process:

(b) Exceptions.-- Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d), the 

following are exempt from access by a requester under this act:

***

(26) A proposal pertaining to agency procurement or 

disposal of supplies, services or construction prior to the award of 

the contract or prior to the opening and rejection of all bids; 

financial information of a bidder or offeror requested in an 

invitation for bid or request for proposals to demonstrate the 

bidder’s or offeror’s economic capability; or the identity of 

members, notes and other records of agency proposal evaluation 

committees established under 62 Pa.C.S. § 513 (relating to 

competitive sealed proposals).

65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(26).

3

Public-Private Transportation Partnership Law (P3 Law), 74 Pa.C.S. §§ 9101-9124.
3

proposal and then lists exemptions. Specifically, Section 9111 of the P3 Law

provides:

(1) Upon the selection of a development entity to be a 

party to a Public-Private transportation partnership 

agreement, the identity of the development entity 

selected, the contents of the response of the 

development entity to the request for proposals, the 

final proposal submitted by the development entity 

and the form of the Public-Private transportation 

partnership agreement shall be made public. Any 

financial information of a development entity that was 

requested in the request for proposals or during 

discussions and negotiations to demonstrate the 

economic capability of a development entity to fully 

perform the requirements of the Public-Private 

transportation partnership agreement shall not be subject 

to public inspection.

(2) A proprietary public and a private development 

entity may agree, in their discretion, to make public 

any information described under paragraph (1) that 

would not otherwise be subject to public inspection.

(3) If a proprietary public entity terminates a PublicPrivate transportation partnership agreement for default, 

rejects a private entity on the grounds that the private 

entity is not responsible or suspends or debars a 

development entity, the private entity or development 

entity, as appropriate, shall, upon written request, be 

provided with a copy of the information contained in the 

file of the private entity or development entity 

maintained by the proprietary public entity under a 

contractor responsibility program.

(4) The following information shall not be public:

(i) Information relating to proprietary 

information, trade secrets, patents or exclusive 

licenses, architectural and engineering plans and 
4

information relating to competitive marketing 

materials and strategies.

(ii) Security information, including risk prevention 

plans, detection and countermeasures, emergency 

management plans, security and surveillance plans, 

equipment and usage protocols and countermeasures.

(iii) Records considered nonpublic matters or 

information by the Securities and Exchange Commission 

under 17 CFR 200.80 (relating to commission records 

and information).

(iv) Any financial information deemed confidential 

by the proprietary public entity upon a showing of good 

cause by the offeror or development entity.

(v) Records prepared or utilized to evaluate a 

proposal.

74 Pa.C.S. § 9111 (emphases added).

B.

Requestor is a member of the construction joint venture of Plenary 

Walsh Keystone Partners, LLC which, in January 2015, submitted the successful 

proposal for the Pennsylvania Rapid Bridge Replacement Project (Bridge 

Replacement) to replace 558 structurally deficient bridges and maintain those 

bridges for 25 years under the P3 Law. In October 2015, Requestor submitted a 

RTKL request to PennDOT, seeking the following:

[Requestor] hereby requests the Proposals, which consist 

of both the Technical Proposal and Financial Proposal, of 

any firm, team or companies that submitted Proposals to 

[PennDOT] for the Pennsylvania Rapid Bridge 

Replacement Project, [request for proposals] [(]RFP[)]
5

Solicitation #: 3513R16, however, excluding the 

Proposal from Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners, LLC., 

to which [Requestor] is a team member of. Specifically, 

the firms, teams, or companies [Requestor] seeks the 

Proposals of include, but are not limited to, the 

following:

1. Keystone Bridge Partners

2. Commonwealth Bridge Partners

3. Pennsylvania Crossings.

(Reproduced Record (R.R.) at 11a.)

PennDOT denied the request, contending that the RTKL does not 

apply to unsuccessful proposals because Section 9111(1) of the P3 Law, 74 Pa.C.S. 

§ 9111(1), limits potential public access to only the successful development 

entity’s proposal, in this case, Requestor’s consortium. Additionally, it stated that 

certain portions of the information contained in the proposals were also exempt 

under exception provisions of the RTKL because they contained personal

identification information, trade secrets or confidential proprietary information, 

financial information, and records of the agency evaluation of proposals.

4

Requestor appealed that determination to the OOR.

 

4

Sections 708(b)(6), 708(b)(11), 708(c) and 708(b)(26) of the RTKL, 65 P.S. §§

67.708(b)(6), 67.708(b)(11), 67.708(c) and 67.708(b)(26), exclude from disclosure personal 

identification information, trade secrets or confidential proprietary information, and financial 

information and records, respectively.
6

II.

Although Section 9111(1) of the P3 Law, 74 Pa.C.S. § 9111(1),

specifically provides that only the successful proposal is subject to release, 

Requestor, before the OOR, contended that the P3 Law’s silence as to disclosure or 

non-disclosure of unsuccessful bidders’ proposals means that unsuccessful 

proposals are not exempt from disclosure and must be disclosed to the same extent 

as that of a successful proposal.

In response, PennDOT submitted an affidavit of Michael R. Bonini, 

Director of PennDOT’s Public Private Partnership Office, in which Mr. Bonini

maintained that it is his understanding that all of the proposals were covered by 

Section 9111 of the P3 Law, 74 Pa.C.S. § 9111(1), and that the parties submitting 

the proposals “expressly agreed during the RFP process that Section 9111(1) was 

controlling and unsuccessful proposals were not subject to public access.” (R.R. at 

31a, ¶9.) He went on to state that the proposals are:

[V]oluminous and include information relating to 

proprietary information, trade secrets, patents or 

exclusive licenses, architectural and engineering plans 

and information relating to competitive marketing 

materials and strategies; Security [sic] information, 

including risk prevention plans, detection and 

countermeasures, emergency management plans, security 

and surveillance plans, equipment and usage protocols 

and countermeasures; records that entities might consider 

nonpublic matters or information by the Securities and 

Exchange Commission under 17 CFR 200.80 (relating to 

commission records and information; and financial 

information deemed confidential by the proprietary 

public entity upon a showing of good cause by the 

offeror or development entity).
7

(Id. at ¶10.) He added that even if the RTKL applies, the unsuccessful proposals 

contain the following information:

a. Trade secrets and confidential information that was 

submitted pursuant to the RFP’s terms regarding public 

access, including information regarding public access, 

including information about delivering the [Bridge 

Replacement] project, obtaining financing and 

development and implementation of a maintenance plan 

for a period of 25 years.

b. Financial information, including without limitation 

information submitted to demonstrate proposers’ 

financial capacity and financing technology.

c. Contact information, including personal telephone 

numbers.

d. Information requiring redaction, which necessarily 

would mean that copy costs would be incurred by 

[PennDOT].

(Id. at 32a, ¶12.)

Rejecting PennDOT’s position that Section 9111(1) of the P3 Law, 74 

Pa.C.S. § 9111(1), only requires the successful bidders’ records to be disclosed, the

OOR held that it was the General Assembly’s intention in enacting the RTKL to 

make the proposals of unsuccessful bidders generally subject to public disclosure, 

and that if the legislature wanted to categorically exclude unsuccessful proposals, it 

would have used language in the P3 Law that explicitly said so. Applying the 

RTKL exceptions rather than those contained in the P3 Law, the OOR found that

unsuccessful bidders’ personal telephone numbers and financial information 
8

submitted to demonstrate a bidder’s capacity to perform are facially exempt from 

disclosure under RTKL Sections 708(b)(6) and (b)(11), 65 P.S. §§ 67.708(b)(6) 

and (b)(11), respectively, and may be withheld, and unsuccessful bidder’s 

confidential proprietary information/trade secrets are exempt from disclosure under 

Section 9111(4) of the P3 Law, 74 Pa.C.S. § 9111(4). PennDOT appealed.

III.

In this appeal,5PennDOT contends that the OOR’s decision violates 

Section 306 of the RTKL, which states that “[n]othing in this act shall supersede or 

modify the public or nonpublic nature of a record or document established in 

Federal or State law, regulation or judicial order or decree.” 65 P.S. § 67.306.

Citing to Department of Labor and Industry v. Heltzel, 90 A.3d 823, 833 (Pa.

Cmwlth. 2014), PennDOT argues that “[o]ther statutes that provide other avenues, 

and set other parameters for access to records ... operate independently of the 

RTKL. Pursuant to Section 3101.1 of the RTKL, [65 P.S. § 67.3101.1,] their 

procedural hurdles, and exceptions, remain intact and enforceable.” PennDOT 

claims that the P3 Law expressly provides that only portions of successful 

proposals are subject to access and does not make unsuccessful proposals public. 

It claims that because the P3 Law establishes parameters for access to successful 

proposals, it is in clear conflict with the RTKL.

 

5 Our scope of review for a question of law under the RTKL is plenary. Office of the 

Governor v. Raffle, 65 A.3d 1105, 1109 n.4 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2013) (quoting Stein v. Plymouth 

Township, 994 A.2d 1179, 1181 n.4 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2010)). “A reviewing court, in its appellate 

jurisdiction, independently reviews the OOR’s orders and may substitute its own findings of fact 

for that of the agency.” Bowling v. Office of Open Records, 990 A.2d 813, 818 (Pa. Cmwlth.

2010), affirmed, 75 A.3d 453 (Pa. 2013).
9

Requestor argues that the P3 Law does not conflict at all with the 

RTKL. It contends that while the P3 Law only specifically states that the 

successful proposal must be released, it is silent as to whether the unsuccessful 

proposals must be released. It argues that we have to look to the RTKL to 

determine whether unsuccessful proposals are public records. Because Section 

708(b)(26) of the RTKL, 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(26), makes no distinction between 

successful and unsuccessful proposals and only allows the withholding of any 

proposal from the public only until the contract has been awarded, that means that 

under the P3 Law, unsuccessful proposals are also public records. We disagree.

The problem with Requestor’s position is that it would have us 

incorporate into Section 9111 of the P3 Law, which was enacted after the RTKL, 

Section 708(b)(26) of the RTKL, 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(26), notwithstanding the 

very different language in the two provisions as to what is to be released. More 

fundamentally, though, the P3 Law is a standalone law that takes the Bridge 

Replacement project out of the normal Procurement Code process for construction 

of public facilities and substitutes a new method for securing public facilities, 

including what records are considered public.

Under the Procurement Code, contracts are output-based, where the 

public sector owner identifies the exact outputs required through detailed 

specifications. 62 Pa.C.S. § 322. Each phase of the project is procured separately 

and multiple contracts pertaining to that phase may be awarded. 62 Pa.C.S. § 517. 

Contracts are awarded in stages: companies bid on the design; once the design is 

completed, a contract is awarded for construction; once construction is completed, 
10

it becomes the public entity’s maintenance responsibility. 62 Pa.C.S. §§ 905, 103. 

Because the Procurement Code process is output-based, most of the risks 

associated with normal procurement contracts are assumed by the public sector 

entity. Usually, each project is financed directly by government through capital 

contributions or debt. The RTKL, in general, applies to Procurement Code 

records.

The P3 Law presents an alternative method to set forth in the 

Procurement Code to build or maintain public infrastructure. Under the P3 Law, 

procurement of two or more of the project delivery phases can be integrated and 

those methods may involve anything from designing and constructing to operating,

maintaining and financing the project. 74 Pa.C.S. § 9108. Moreover, P3 contracts 

have outcome-based specifications, meaning that the public sector owner specifies 

its requirements and the private sector partner determines the best way to meet 

them. See 74 Pa.C.S. § 9110. Typically, in a P3 contract, the public sector partner 

would be responsible for securing its own financing, with the private sector partner 

financing the upfront capital costs and then recovering its investment over the term 

of the P3 agreement. See 74 Pa.C.S. § 9121. Also, the private sector party 

assumes substantial financial, technical and operational risk, and a Public-Private 

Transportation Partnership Board was created to oversee the process and select P3 

projects. 74 Pa.C.S. § 9103.

Just as the procurement processes under the P3 Law are separate from 

those used under the Procurement Code, the public access to records contained in 

Section 9111 of the P3 Law are separate and distinct from the RTKL. Unlike the 
11

RTKL, which is open ended—i.e., unless falling within one of the exemptions the 

information is presumed to be a public record—Section 9111 of the P3 Law is 

closed-ended in that it specifies what information must be released, and if the 

record is not specified as public, it is not a public record. The P3 Law provides 

that only the identity of the development entity selected, the contents of the 

response of the development entity to the request for proposals, the final proposal 

submitted by the development entity, and the form of the Public-Private 

transportation partnership agreement be made public. The exceptions as to what 

has to be disclosed under the RTKL and the P3 Law, in some instances, are 

similar. However, the exceptions under the P3 Law are more expansive in that 

architectural and engineering plans and information relating to competitive 

marketing materials and strategies are not to be made public, while under the 

RTKL, normally, they are. The P3 Law is also more specific in that it denominates 

what type of materials cannot be released. Moreover, only the private 

development entity that is the successful proposer can release information that is 

otherwise exempt from disclosure under Section 9111(2) of the P3 Law, 74 Pa.C.S. 

§ 9111(2), taking away the normal right of a public contracting agency to release 

information in its possession if it believes it to be in the public interest. 65 P.S. §

67.506.

Simply, if the General Assembly wanted all proposals to be released, 

it would have said so and not limited the release to only the successful proposal.6

 

6 Under the statutory construction principle expressio unius est exclusio alterius, the 

inclusion of a specific matter in a statute implies the exclusion of other matters. Atcovitz v. 

Gulph Mills Tennis Club, Inc., 812 A.2d 1218 (Pa. 2002).
12

See Heltzel, 90 A.3d at 832 (explaining that “a statute should be clear when it 

establishes the public nature of records.”).7

Accordingly, for the above reasons, we reverse the OOR’s final 

determination to the extent it concluded that the proposals of the unsuccessful 

bidders are subject to public disclosure.8

___________________________________

DAN PELLEGRINI, Senior Judge

 

7 Requestor contends that it is entitled to an award of recoupment of attorneys’ fees and 

costs of litigation under Section 1304(a) of the RTKL, 65 P.S. § 67.1304(a), because “PennDOT 

unreasonably and willfully ignored the depth of case law that has declared bids to be public 

record.” (Requestor’s Brief at 19.). Obviously, because we have decided this matter in 

PennDOT’s favor, the request for counsel fees is denied.

8 We agree, though, with the OOR that even if the unsolicited proposals were public 

records, unsuccessful bidders’ personal telephone numbers and financial information submitted 

to demonstrate a bidder’s capacity to perform and confidential proprietary information/trade 

secrets are exempt from disclosure under Section 9111(4) of the P3 Law, 74 Pa.C.S. § 9111(4).
IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, :

Department of Transportation, :

Petitioner :

:

v. : No. 246 C.D. 2016

:

Walsh/Granite JV, :

Respondent :

O R D E R

AND NOW, this 31st day of October, 2016, the Final Determination of 

the Office of Open Records dated January 19, 2016, at No. AP 2015-2648, is 

reversed.

___________________________________

DAN PELLEGRINI, Senior Judge
IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, :

Department of Transportation, :

Petitioner :

: No. 246 C.D. 2016

v. :

: Argued: September 15, 2016

Walsh/Granite JV, :

Respondent :

BEFORE: HONORABLE PATRICIA A. McCULLOUGH, Judge

HONORABLE JOSEPH M. COSGROVE, Judge

HONORABLE DAN PELLEGRINI, Senior Judge

DISSENTING OPINION 

BY JUDGE McCULLOUGH FILED: October 31, 2016

I respectfully dissent from the Majority’s thoughtful resolution of the 

narrow issue presented on appeal: whether section 9111 of the Public-Private 

Transportation Partnership Law (P3 Law),

1

74 Pa.C.S. §9111,

2

exempts from 

 

1

74 Pa.C.S. §§9101—9124.

2

In its entirety, this section states:

(1) Upon the selection of a development entity to be a party to a 

public-private transportation partnership agreement, the identity of 

the development entity selected, the contents of the response of the 

development entity to the request for proposals, the final proposal 

submitted by the development entity and the form of the publicprivate transportation partnership agreement shall be made public. 

Any financial information of a development entity that was 

requested in the request for proposals or during discussions and 

negotiations to demonstrate the economic capability of a 

development entity to fully perform the requirements of the public-

(Footnote continued on next page...)
PAM - 2

 

(continued...)

private transportation partnership agreement shall not be subject 

to public inspection.

(2) A proprietary public and a private development entity may 

agree, in their discretion, to make public any information described 

under paragraph (1) that would not otherwise be subject to public 

inspection.

(3) If a proprietary public entity terminates a public-private 

transportation partnership agreement for default, rejects a private 

entity on the grounds that the private entity is not responsible or 

suspends or debars a development entity, the private entity or 

development entity, as appropriate, shall, upon written request, be 

provided with a copy of the information contained in the file of the 

private entity or development entity maintained by the proprietary 

public entity under a contractor responsibility program.

(4) The following information shall not be public:

(i) Information relating to proprietary information, trade secrets, 

patents or exclusive licenses, architectural and engineering plans 

and information relating to competitive marketing materials and 

strategies.

(ii) Security information, including risk prevention plans, 

detection and countermeasures, emergency management plans, 

security and surveillance plans, equipment and usage protocols and 

countermeasures.

(iii) Records considered nonpublic matters or information by the 

Securities and Exchange Commission under 17 CFR 200.80 

(relating to commission records and information).

(iv) Any financial information deemed confidential by the 

proprietary public entity upon a showing of good cause by the 

offeror or development entity.

(v) Records prepared or utilized to evaluate a proposal.

(Footnote continued on next page...)
PAM - 3

disclosure the proposals of unsuccessful bidders made in connection with a bridge 

project after the Department of Transportation (Department) awarded the contract. 

The Majority concludes that section 9111 shields this information from public

inspection. 

The objective of the Right-to-Know Law (RTKL)3“is to empower 

citizens by affording them access to information concerning the activities of their 

government . . . . [T]he enactment of the RTKL in 2008 was a dramatic expansion 

of the publics’ access to government documents.” Levy v. Senate of Pennsylvania, 

65 A.3d 361, 381 (Pa. 2013) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). 

“Whereas before a requester had the burden to prove that documents should be 

disclosed, the RTKL presumes documents in the possession of an agency are 

public records subject to disclosure, unless protected by a specific exception.” 

Levy, 65 A.3d at 381 (citation omitted).

Pursuant to section 305(a)(3) of the RTKL, a record in the possession 

of a Commonwealth agency “shall be presumed to be a public record” unless “the 

record is exempt from disclosure under any other Federal or State law or regulation 

 

(continued...)

74 Pa.C.S. §9111 (emphasis added). A “[d]evelopment entity” is defined, in relevant part, as 

“[a]n entity which is a party to a public-private transportation partnership agreement,” and a 

“[p]ublic-private transportation partnership agreement” is “[a] contract for a transportation 

project which transfers . . . a transportation facility by a public entity to a development entity for 

a definite term during which the development entity will provide the transportation project to the 

public entity in return for the right to receive all or a portion of the revenue generated from the 

use of the transportation facility, or other payment . . . .” 

3 Act of February 14, 2008, P.L. 6, 65 P.S. §§67.101—67.3104.
PAM - 4

or judicial order or decree.” 65 P.S. §67.305(a)(3).4“In order to constitute an 

exemption under Section 305(a)(3) of the RTKL, the . . . statute must expressly 

provide that the record sought is confidential, private, and/or not subject to 

public disclosure.” Ali v. Philadelphia City Planning Commission, 125 A.3d 92, 

100 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2015) (en banc) (emphasis added).

Section 9111(1) of the P3 Law states that “the final proposal” of the 

successful bidder (or “development entity selected”) “shall be made public,” but 

also states that certain financial information submitted by the successful bidder 

“shall not be subject to public inspection.” 74 Pa.C.S. §9111(1).5 As the Majority 

concedes, this provision of the P3 Law pertains to the proposal and financial 

information of the successful bidder – and that bidder only – after a contract has 

been awarded. Maj. slip op. at 2-3, 11.

Importantly, section 9111 of the P3 Law is silent as to whether the 

proposals of unsuccessful bidders are public or non-public records after a contract 

has been awarded: the statute voices no view, makes no suggestion either way, 

and can only be considered as omitting the topic entirely. As a natural result of 

this void, section 9111 of the P3 Law does not in any linguistic manner exempt 

from disclosure the proposals of the unsuccessful bidders. The Majority’s

determination that the P3 Law renders the proposals of the unsuccessful bidders 

untouchable requires adding language into section 9111 of the P3, which is 

“contrary to the established precept that it is improper for this Court to supply 

 

4

See also section 306 of the RTKL, 65 P.S. §67.306 (stating that “[n]othing in the 

[RTKL] shall supersede or modify the public or nonpublic nature of a record or document 

established in Federal or State law, regulation or judicial order or decree.”). 

5

The P3 Law also contains a list of other information that “shall not be public,” including 

trade secrets and the like, but this section is neither applicable nor informative in resolving the 

issue at hand. See 74 Pa.C.S. §9111(4). 
PAM - 5

legislative omissions.” Karoly v. Mancuso, 65 A.3d 301, 309 n.7 (Pa. 2013). 

Tellingly, “it is not for the courts to add, by interpretation to a statute, a 

requirement which the legislature did not see fit to include.” Martin v. Department 

of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 905 A.2d 438, 443 (Pa. 2006). 

Given the absence of language in section 9111(1) of the P3 Law prohibiting 

disclosure of the unsuccessful bidders’ proposals, I cannot agree with the Majority.

As the Majority posits: “the issue in this case is whether Section 9111 

of the [P3 Law] exempts unsuccessful proposals from disclosure because it only 

specifically provides for the disclosure of the successful proposal[.]” Maj. slip op. 

at 2-3 (emphasis added). A statute which explicitly says that one record is subject 

to public disclosure (i.e., the proposal of the successful bidder), but is silent 

regarding another record (i.e., the proposals of the unsuccessful bidders) should not 

be interpreted to say that the second and unmentioned record is not subject to 

disclosure. Stated differently, the Majority relies solely upon statutory silence, i.e., 

the proposal of the successful bidder is explicitly disclosable; ergo, by implication, 

the proposals of the unsuccessful bidders are not disclosable. 

Section 9111(1) of the P3 Law says nothing about the public nature of 

the proposals of the unsuccessful bidders. When a statute does not speak of a 

particular record or document, then it does not “expressly provide that the record 

sought is confidential, private, and/or not subject to public disclosure.” Ali, 125 

A.3d at 100. If the General Assembly wanted to shield from disclosure the 

proposals of the unsuccessful bidders, it “could have done so, and it may even have 

intended to do so, but it did not do so.” Commonwealth v. Shafer, 202 A.2d 308, 

312 (Pa. 1964). It is an established precept that “[a] court has no power to insert 

words into statutory provisions where the legislature has failed to supply them.” 

Amendola v. Civil Service Commission of Crafton Borough, 589 A.2d 775, 777 
PAM - 6

(Pa. Cmwlth. 1991). Because there is no language in the P3 Law exempting from 

disclosure the proposals of the unsuccessful bidders after a contract has been 

awarded, I would conclude that the presumption of public access conferred by 

section 305(a)(3) of the RTKL stands intact and these records are disclosable. 

The Majority states that disclosure would require the Court to 

“incorporate into Section 9111 of the P3 Law, which was enacted after the RTKL,

Section 708(b)(26) of the RTKL,” and that “the public access to records contained 

in Section 9111 of the P3 Law are separate and distinct from the RTKL,” dubbing 

the RTKL as “open ended” and denoting the P3 Law as “closed-ended.” Maj. slip 

op. at 9-10. 

The RTKL is the preeminent statute regarding the public’s requests to 

access public records. See Levy, 65 A.3d at 381. First and foremost, the RTKL 

mandates that “[a] record in the possession of a Commonwealth agency . . . shall

be presumed to be a public record.” Section 305(a) of the RTKL, 65 P.S. 

§67.305(a). By its very terms, section 305(a)(3) of the RTKL acknowledges that 

there are other statutes that dictate the confidential or non-public nature of a 

document and incorporates, through reference, those statutes into its scheme, 

providing a basis for an exemption from disclosure and nullifying the presumption 

that a record is a public record. See 65 P.S. §67.305(a)(3). However, as explained 

above, section 9111(1) of the P3 Law provides for no such exemption in this case. 

Moreover, section 708(b)(26) of the RTKL, 65 P.S. §67.708(b)(26),

and section 9111 of the P3 Law are entirely consonant. The former says that, in 

general and subject to other exemptions, proposals are exempt from disclosure 

until the contract is awarded, while the latter provides for disclosure only after a 

contract has been awarded and expounds upon some additional exemptions. See

65 P.S. §67.708(b)(26) (exempting “[a] proposal pertaining to agency procurement 
PAM - 7

or disposal of supplies, services or construction prior to the award of the contract 

or prior to the opening and rejection of all bids”) (emphasis added); 74 Pa.C.S. 

§9111(1) (stating that the “final proposal” of the “development entity selected ... 

shall be made public.”); 74 Pa.C.S. §9111(4) (providing that certain information, 

such as trade secrets and the like, “shall not be public.”). To the limited extent that 

section 9111(4) of the P3 Law contains exemptions that are not duplicitous of 

those in the RTKL, these exemptions, in turn, are incorporated into the RTKL via 

section 305(a)(3) of the RTKL and can serve as a basis for non-disclosure. 

There is no conflict between the RTKL and the P3 Law, and the two 

can be construed and applied in unison. See Section 1932(b) of the Statutory 

Construction Act of 1972, 1 Pa.C.S. §1932(b) (“Statutes in pari materia shall be 

construed together, if possible, as one statute.”). The Majority essentially allows 

section 9111 of the P3 Law to abrogate or supersede the RTKL and act as its own

statutory scheme when it comes to the disclosure of public records. Absent an 

overt expression of unmistakable language and intent, I do not believe that the 

General Assembly, in enacting the P3 Law, intended to displace the RTKL. In 

addition, the bidding processes of the Procurement Code6and the P3 Law as well 

as the RTKL are clear.

For these reasons, I respectfully dissent. Unlike the Majority, I would

affirm the final determination of the Office of Open Records specifically upholding 

its conclusion that the proposals of the unsuccessful bidders are disclosable. 

________________________________

PATRICIA A. McCULLOUGH, Judge

 

6

62 Pa.C.S. §§101-2311.