House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

NEW!

Subscribe to receive notifications of new Co-Sponsorship Memos circulated

By Member | By Date | Keyword Search

House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted:	January 14, 2015 04:46 PM
From:	Representative Scott A. Petri
To:	All House members
Subject:	Confidentiality of Personal Information of Public Safety Officials

In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that would amend Title 2 (Administrative Law and Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to establish the confidentiality of personal information of public safety officials. My legislation would prohibit a political subdivision or Commonwealth agency, upon receipt of a written request from a public safety official, from disclosing the personal information of the public safety official, his or her spouse, child, or parent. It is an unfortunate reality that, by virtue of their public service, public safety officials and their family members face a range of unique risks, from physical violence to harassment, perpetrated by those seeking to extract revenge or to corrupt the functions of these public servants. The array of misuses for even a limited body of information, just a name and a home address, is staggering. Maintaining a legal process for individuals to maliciously abuse in order to gain access to the personal information of public safety officials and their loved ones is irresponsible at best and potentially fatal at worst. I believe that it is essential to address this issue and to protect the personal information of public safety officials – we frequently entrust these individuals with our lives and it is only right that we do what we can to protect theirs.

---