In 1978, lawmakers added a provision that allowed the public to appeal to Commonwealth Court any state agency's refusal to provide access to information. But other attempts to strengthen the law have failed. And it needs strengthening, said Brian Gotlieb, general counsel to the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, to keep up with the technology used to store and retrieve information. Most government information is stored in computer databases and access to those files is not specifically addressed in the law, he said. Pennsylvania's law also is weak on enforcement, Klein said.
Leader is skeptical that the law did any good.
Influence peddling remains, he said, and government decision-making has gotten no better as deals still get struck between politicians and their supporters. Money is the main motivator.