Right-to-Know Act Policy and Procedure

Transcription

1 Right-to-Know Act Policy and Procedure In accordance with the Right-to-Know Act, 65 P.S (RTKA) and the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act (Act 71), the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) hereby adopts the following policy regarding requests for public records. I. ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS A. In General: Unless otherwise provided by Act 71, a public record shall be accessible for inspection and duplication by a requester in accordance with this policy. A public record shall be provided to a requester in the medium requested if the public record exists in that medium; otherwise, it shall be provided in the medium in which it exists. Public records shall be available for access during the regular business hours of the PGCB and with prior notice as outlined in Section 1(L) of this policy. All public records shall be reviewed in the area designated by the PGCB s Right-to-Know Act Office (RTKA Office). The PGCB shall not deny a requester access to a public record due to the intended use of the public record by the requester. B. Written Requests: All requests for access to public records under the RTKA shall be submitted in person, by mail or by facsimile. Requests must conform to the requirements of the RTKA and therefore must include the

2 name of the requester and an address to which a response can be sent. Requests must identify or describe the records sought with sufficient specificity to enable the PGCB to ascertain which records are being requested. Requests shall be considered received by the PGCB upon receipt by the RTKA Office. C. RTKA Office: i. Submission of Requests: Written requests for copies of, or access to, public records shall be hand-delivered, mailed or faxed to: RTKA Office c/o Director of Administration Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board 303 Walnut Street, Strawberry Square Verizon Tower, 5 th Floor Harrisburg, PA Requests may be faxed to: (717) It is the policy of the RTKA Office not to accept requests by . Requests sent to other PGCB offices shall be forwarded to the RTKA Office but shall not be considered received by PGCB until actual receipt by the RTKA Office. ii. Regular Business Hours: The regular business hours of the RTKA Office shall be from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding state holidays. D. RTKA Official: The Director of Administration is hereby designated as the PGCB s RTKA Official. The Director of Administration may, in his or her 2

3 discretion, appoint members of the Office of Chief Counsel or a member of the Executive Staff to act on RTKA matters on his or her behalf. E. Residency Requirement: The PGCB is required to provide a requester with access to a public record only if the requester is a resident of Pennsylvania. The RTKA Office may, in its discretion, rely upon the requester s stated address, the return address listed on the request, the postmark, or a combination of these factors to determine whether the requester is a resident of Pennsylvania. F. PGCB Employees Receiving a RTKA Request: Any PGCB employee who receives a RTKA request shall, as soon as practicable, deliver the request, including all documents submitted with the request and the envelope (if any) in which the request was received, to the RTKA Official. G. Records Custodians: It is the responsibility of all PGCB employees who has care, custody or control of PGCB records to fully cooperate with the RTKA Office in responding to RTKA requests. H. Duplication of Public Records: With prior notice of at least five (5) business days, the RTKA Office will accommodate requesters who desire to bring their own equipment onto PGCB property so that they may make their own duplicates provided that: there is sufficient space to accommodate the request; there will be no disruption to PGCB employees in the performance of their duties; and the requester is capable of handling the records being duplicated without causing damage to them. Requesters are not to be allowed to operate PGCB equipment. 3

4 I. Creation of a Public Record: When responding to a request for access, the PGCB shall not be required to create a public record that does not currently exist or to compile, maintain, format or organize a public record in a manner in which the PGCB does not currently compile, maintain, format or organize the public record. J. Retention of Records: Nothing in this Policy is intended to modify, rescind, or supersede any record retention and disposition schedule established pursuant to law. K. Redaction: If information which is not subject to access is an integral part of a public record and cannot be separated, the PGCB shall redact from the public record the information which is not subject to access, and the response shall grant access to the information which is subject to access. The PGCB shall not deny access to the public record if the information which is not subject to access is able to be redacted. Information which the PGCB redacts in accordance with this section shall be deemed a denial. L. Physical Access to Public Records: Upon request, public records will be made available for inspection during the regular business hours in the PGCB s Harrisburg Office. Prior to being granted access to public records, the requester must contact the RTKA Official at (717) and schedule an appointment to view specific records. Unless otherwise waived by the RTKA Official, a requester must contact the RTKA Official at least five (5) business days prior to the desired date of physical access to the records. 4

5 II. EXCEPTIONS: A. Filing of Exceptions: If a written request for access is denied or deemed denied, the requester may file exceptions to a denial, in whole or in part, of a written request for public records under the RTKA with the Executive Director of the PGCB within fifteen (15) business days of the mailing date of the PGCB's response or within fifteen (15) business days of a deemed denial. Exceptions received after fifteen (15) business days of denial will be dismissed. Exceptions must state the reasons that the requester asserts that the record is a public record and must address the reasons, if any, stated by the PGCB for denying the request. Exceptions can not be filed by . Exceptions must be in writing and addressed to: RTKA Exceptions Official c/o The Clerk to the Board Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board 303 Walnut Street, Strawberry Square Verizon Tower, 5 th Floor Harrisburg, PA B. RTKA Exceptions Official: The Executive Director of the PGCB shall act as Chief RTKA Exceptions Official for the purpose of deciding exceptions. Associate RTKA Exceptions Officials may be appointed by the Executive Director as necessary for the timely disposition of pending matters. C. Hearings: i. Whether a hearing is held is within the sole discretion of the RTKA Exceptions Official. Either the requester or the PGCB may request a 5

6 hearing. The decision as to whether to convene a hearing is not appealable. ii. Unless the requester has agreed to an extension of time, the RTKA Exceptions Official will duly consider, in addition to any other relevant facts, the need to render a final determination within thirty (30) calendar days of the mailing date of the exceptions in deciding whether a hearing will be held. iii. If the RTKA Exceptions Official decides to conduct an administrative hearing, the requestor and the RTKA Officer will be notified of the date, time, and place. iv. The RTKA Exceptions Official may condition having an administrative hearing on the requestor s agreement to a final determination more than thirty (30) days after the exceptions were mailed. v. The RTKA Exceptions Official may: (1) require that each party, in advance of the administrative hearing, provide a list of witnesses and exhibits to the opposing party and the RTKA Exceptions Official; and (2) at the subsequent administrative hearing, limit the witnesses and exhibits to only those identified on the list. vi. Unless otherwise determined by the RTKA Exceptions Official, the administrative hearing will be conducted during a single business day. The RTKA Exceptions Official may limit the time within 6

7 which each party must present its witnesses and exhibits. The requester will present evidence first. vii. Testimony of witnesses at a hearing will be under oath and recorded by a court reporter. viii. If a hearing is held, the strict rules of evidence will not be applied. The RTKA Exceptions Official may admit into evidence testimony and exhibits that are reasonably probative and relevant. Any brief or legal argument must be presented at or before the hearing. ix. The General Rules of Administrative Practice and Procedure will not apply. The RTKA Exceptions Official shall rule on procedural matters regarding the exceptions on the basis of justice, fairness, and expeditious resolution. x. The RTKA Exceptions Official may designate another person to conduct hearings or otherwise assist the Exceptions Official. III. FEES A. Postage: The RTKA Office may pass on all costs associated with shipping requested documents onto the requester. The RTKA Office will not charge for first class postage if the requested documents fit in a standard business envelope. B. Duplication: The RTKA Office may pass on all costs associated with duplicating documents onto the requester. The RTKA Office will charge 7

8 $0.15 for each photocopy. One photocopy is either a single-sided copy or one side of a double-sided copy. C. Other Materials: The RTKA Office will charge a requester $1.00 for each diskette or compact disc which is provided in response to a RTKA request. D. Staff Time: The RTKA Office will not charge the requester for the time spent by the PGCB staff on locating records or on determining whether requested information qualifies as a public record. The RTKA Office will charge a requester $6.00 for every fifteen minutes spent by a PGCB staff member redacting records, leaving a PGCB Office to accomplish offpremises copying, traveling in order to retrieve records and associated tasks. E. Prepayment: If the estimated costs of duplication and/or redaction exceed $100.00, the requester will be required to pay the estimated cost in advance of duplicating and/or redacting records. Payment in full shall be tendered prior to granting access to the requested records. Prepayment will be made by certified check, non-certified check, or money order. A prepayment made by a non-certified check must first have cleared to be considered received by the RTKA Office. The RTKA Office must receive prepayment within thirty (30) calendar days of the mailing date of requesting prepayment. If the requester fails to make payment within thirty (30) days, the request will be deemed denied. F. Waiver of Fees: The fees for duplication and/or redaction of a public record may be waived by the RTKA Official, when: i.) the requester duplicates the public record or ii.) it is deemed in the public interest to do so. 8