1Amending the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), entitled 
2"An act providing for access to public information, for a 
3designated open-records officer in each Commonwealth agency, 
4local agency, judicial agency and legislative agency, for 
5procedure, for appeal of agency determination, for judicial 
6review and for the Office of Open Records; imposing 
7penalties; providing for reporting by State-related 
8institutions; requiring the posting of certain State contract 
9information on the Internet; and making related repeals," 
10further providing for definitions; providing for Pennsylvania 
11Interscholastic Athletic Association; further providing for 
12requests; providing for inmate access; and further providing 
13for access, for requests, for written requests, for 
14production of certain records, for exceptions for public 
15records, for agency response in general, for filing of 
16appeal, for appeals officers, for specified agencies, for fee 
17limitations and for Office of Open Records.

18The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
19hereby enacts as follows:

20Section 1. The definitions of "confidential proprietary 
21information," "independent agency," "local agency," "personal
22financial information" and "State-affiliated entity" in section
23102 of the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the 
24Right-to-Know Law, are amended and the section is amended by 

1adding definitions to read:

2Section 102. Definitions.

3The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
4have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
5context clearly indicates otherwise:

6* * *

7"Commercial purpose." The use of a record:

8(1) for the purpose of selling or reselling any portion
9of the record;

10(2) to obtain names and addresses from the record for
11the purpose of solicitation; or

12(3) in a manner through which the requester can
13reasonably expect to make a profit.

14The term does not include the use of a public record by an
15educational or noncommercial scientific institution for
16scholarly or scientific research or the use of a public record
17by the news media for dissemination in a newspaper, periodical
18or radio or television news broadcast.

19* * *

20"Confidential proprietary information." Commercial or 
21financial information received or created by an agency:

22(1) which is privileged or confidential; and

23(2) the disclosure of which would cause substantial harm
24to the competitive position of the person that submitted the
25information.

26* * *

27"Funding source." The General Fund, a special fund or other
28Federal or State funds appropriated by the General Assembly by
29statute or executive authorization.

30* * *

1"Independent agency." Any board, commission, authority or
2other agency or officer of the Commonwealth, that is not subject
3to the policy supervision and control of the Governor. The term
4does not include a legislative or judicial agency.

5* * *

6"Local agency." Any of the following:

7(1) Any political subdivision, intermediate unit,
8charter school, cyber charter school or public trade or
9vocational school.

10(2) Any local, intergovernmental, regional or municipal
11agency, authority, council, board, commission or similar
12governmental entity. This paragraph includes an economic 
13development authority and an industrial development 
14authority.

15(3) Any campus police department of a State-owned or
16State-related college or university.

17* * *

18"Personal financial information." An individual's personal
19credit, charge or debit card information; bank account
20information; bank, credit or financial statements; account or
21PIN numbers; forms required to be filed by a taxpayer with a 
22Federal or Commonwealth taxing authority; and other information
23relating to an individual's personal finances.

24* * *

25"State-affiliated entity." A Commonwealth authority or
26Commonwealth entity. The term includes the Pennsylvania Higher
27Education Assistance Agency and any entity established thereby,
28the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the Pennsylvania Game
29Commission, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, the
30Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, the Pennsylvania Municipal

1Retirement Board, the State System of Higher Education, a
2community college, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, the
3Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, the Pennsylvania
4Infrastructure Investment Authority, the State Public School
5Building Authority[, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic
6Association] and the Pennsylvania Higher Educational Facilities
7Authority. The term does not include a State-related
8institution.

9* * *

10"Time response log." A log created, received, maintained or 
11retained by a public-safety answering point (PSAP), as defined 
12in 35 Pa.C.S. § 5302 (relating to definitions), containing the 
13following information:

14(1) The time the call was received by the PSAP.

15(2) The time the PSAP contacted or dispatched the
16appropriate agency for response.

17(3) The time the appropriate agency responded.

18(4) The time the appropriate agency arrived on the
19scene.

20(5) The time the appropriate agency became available.

21(6) The address of the incident or the cross street or
22mile marker nearest the scene of the incident.

23* * *

24Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:

25Section 307. Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.

26This act shall apply to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic
27Athletic Association.

28Section 3. Section 506 of the act is amended to read:

29Section 506. Requests.

30(a) Disruptive requests.--

1(1) An agency may deny a requester access to a record if
2the requester has made repeated requests for that same record
3and the repeated requests have placed an unreasonable burden
4on the agency.

5(2) A denial under this subsection shall not restrict
6the ability to request a different record.

7(3) If a request or a related group of requests would be 
8unduly burdensome, the agency may petition a court of 
9competent jurisdiction for a protective order. The court may 
10issue a protective order upon a showing of good cause, 
11including:

12(i) That the provision of the records requested be
13prohibited.

14(ii) That only certain records be released.

15(4) An agency may deny requests to a party to litigation
16which are related to pending litigation or which were
17previously made in litigation discovery.

18(b) Disaster or potential damage.--

19(1) An agency may deny a requester access:

20(i) when timely access is not possible due to fire,
21flood or other disaster; or

22(ii) to historical, ancient or rare documents,
23records, archives and manuscripts when access may, in the
24professional judgment of the curator or custodian of
25records, cause physical damage or irreparable harm to the
26record.

27(2) To the extent possible, the contents of a record
28under this subsection shall be made accessible to a requester
29even when the record is physically unavailable.

30(c) Agency discretion.--An agency may exercise its

1discretion to make any otherwise exempt record accessible for
2inspection and copying under this chapter, if all of the
3following apply:

4(1) Disclosure of the record is not prohibited or 
5restricted under any of the following:

6(i) Federal or State law or regulation.

7(ii) Judicial order or decree.

8(2) The record is not protected by a privilege.

9(3) The agency head determines that the public interest
10favoring access outweighs any individual, agency or public
11interest that may favor restriction of access.

12(d) Agency possession.--

13(1) [A public record that is not in the possession of an
14agency but is in the possession of a party with whom the
15agency has contracted to perform a governmental function on
16behalf of the agency, and which directly relates to the
17governmental function and is not exempt under this act, shall
18be considered a public record of the agency for purposes of
19this act.] An agency which is a party to a contract shall 
20provide a copy of the contract and any public records of the 
21agency relating to the contract.

22(2) Nothing in this act shall be construed to require
23access to any other record of the party in possession of the
24public record.

25(3) A request for a public record in possession of a
26party other than the agency shall be submitted to the open
27records officer of the agency. Upon a determination that the
28record is subject to access under this act, the open records
29officer shall assess the duplication fee established under
30section 1307(b) and upon collection shall remit the fee to

1the party in possession of the record if the party duplicated
2the record.

3Section 4. The act is amended by adding a section to read:

4Section 508. Inmate access.

5(a) Status.--Except as provided in subsection (b), an inmate
6may not be a requester for purposes of this act.

7(b) Records.--An agency shall provide an inmate with copies
8of the following records as they pertain to the inmate if the
9disclosure of the record will not diminish the safety or
10security of any person or correctional facility:

11(1) Criminal records relating to the criminal commitment
12of the inmate.

13(2) Institutional housing information.

14(3) The inmate's financial records.

15(4) The inmate's work records.

16(5) The inmate's educational records.

17(6) The inmate's disciplinary records.

18(7) Disciplinary and other policies adopted by the
19correctional institution.

20(8) A record relating to any Federal or State benefit
21received by the inmate or for which the inmate is eligible.

22(9) The inmate's tax records.

23(10) The inmate's voting records.

24(11) Records relating to any license issued to the
25inmate by a Commonwealth or local agency.

26(c) Applicability.--Nothing under this section shall
27prohibit a correctional institution from voluntarily permitting
28an inmate to have access to records not listed under subsection
29(b) or prevent a correctional institution from complying with a
30lawful subpoena or court order.

1Section 5. Sections 701, 702, 703 and 707 of the act are
2amended to read:

3Section 701. Access.

4(a) General rule.--Unless otherwise provided by law, a
5public record, legislative record or financial record shall be
6accessible for inspection and duplication in accordance with
7this act. A record being provided to a requester shall be
8provided in the medium, computer file format or other format
9requested if it exists in that medium, computer file format or 
10other format; otherwise, it shall be provided in the medium in
11which it exists. Public records, legislative records or
12financial records shall be available for access during the
13regular business hours of an agency.

14(b) Construction.--Nothing in this act shall be construed to
15require access to any computer either of an agency or individual
16employee of an agency.

17Section 702. Requests.

18Agencies may fulfill verbal[, written or anonymous verbal] or
19written requests for access to records under this act. If the
20requester wishes to pursue the relief and remedies provided for
21in this act, the request for access to records must be a written
22request.

23Section 703. Written requests.

24A written request for access to records may be submitted in
25person, by mail, by e-mail, by facsimile or, to the extent
26provided by agency rules, by any other electronic means. A
27written request must be addressed to the open-records officer
28designated pursuant to section 502 or to the administrative 
29office of the agency. [Employees of an] The administrative 
30office of the agency shall [be directed to] promptly forward

1requests for records to the agency's open-records officer. A
2written request should identify or describe the records sought
3with sufficient specificity to enable the agency to ascertain
4which records are being requested and shall include the name and
5address to which the agency should address its response. [A]
6Except as required under section 707(d), a written request need
7not include any explanation of the requester's reason for
8requesting or intended use of the records unless otherwise
9required by law. A written request must include the name and 
10address of the requester and the name of the agency to which the 
11request is addressed.

12Section 707. Production of certain records.

13(a) General rule.--If, in response to a request, an agency
14produces a record that is not a public record, legislative
15record or financial record, the agency shall notify any third
16party that provided the record to the agency, the person that is
17the subject of the record and the requester.

18(b) Requests for trade secrets.--An agency shall notify a
19third party of a request for a record if the third party
20provided the record and included a written statement signed by a
21representative of the third party that the record contains a
22trade secret or confidential proprietary information.
23Notification shall be provided within five business days of
24receipt of the request for the record. The third party shall
25have five business days from receipt of notification from the
26agency to provide input on the release of the record. The agency
27shall deny the request for the record or release the record
28within ten business days of the provision of notice to the third
29party and shall notify the third party of the decision.

30(c) Transcripts.--

1(1) Prior to an adjudication becoming final, binding and
2nonappealable, a transcript of an administrative proceeding
3shall be provided to a requester by the agency stenographer
4or a court reporter, in accordance with agency procedure or
5an applicable contract.

6(2) Following an adjudication becoming final, binding
7and nonappealable, a transcript of an administrative
8proceeding shall be provided to a requester in accordance
9with the duplication rates established in section 1307(b).

10(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
11require an agency to transcribe a proceeding solely for
12purposes of responding to a request under this act.

13(d) Commercial requests.--An agency may require a requester
14to certify in writing whether the request is for a commercial
15purpose. Certification shall be submitted on a form developed by
16the Office of Open Records that shall provide a checkoff for the
17requester to use to indicate whether the request is for a
18commercial purpose. A requester that submits a false written
19statement shall be subject to 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904 (relating to
20unsworn falsification to authorities).

21Section 6. Section 708(b)(10)(i) and (ii), (13), (17) and 
22(18) and (c) of the act are amended and subsection (b) is
23amended by adding paragraphs to read:

24Section 708. Exceptions for public records.

25* * *

26(b) Exceptions.--Except as provided in subsections (c) and
27(d), the following are exempt from access by a requester under
28this act:

29* * *

30(5.1) The payment records of a person receiving services 

1from a public water or sewer authority or other municipal 
2authority, municipality or cooperative that provides 
3electricity, water, sewer, storm water, natural gas or 
4similar service. The authority, municipality or cooperative 
5shall establish a process to provide a clearance certificate 
6to a person to certify that all fees and charges owed have 
7been paid. A reasonable fee for a clearance certificate may 
8be charged. This paragraph shall not apply to reports of 
9aggregate payments made by a municipality, authority or 
10cooperative to assist low-income consumers or other consumers 
11in obtaining services. If funds are owed, the amount of the 
12delinquency shall appear on the clearance certificate.

13* * *

14(6.1) Tax payment records in the possession of a tax 
15collector. A tax collector shall establish a process to 
16provide a clearance certificate to a person certifying that 
17all local taxes owed have been paid. If funds are owed, the 
18amount of the delinquency shall appear on the clearance 
19certificate. A reasonable fee for a clearance certificate may 
20be charged. As used in this paragraph, the term "tax 
21collector" means an elected tax collector or an employee or 
22contractor of an agency that collects local taxes pursuant to 
23law.

24* * *

25(10) As follows:

26(i) A record that reflects, contains or includes:

27(A) The internal, predecisional deliberations of
28an agency, its members, employees or officials or
29predecisional deliberations between agency members,
30employees or officials and members, employees or

1officials of another agency, including predecisional
2deliberations relating to a budget recommendation,
3legislative proposal, legislative amendment,
4contemplated or proposed policy or course of action
5or any research, memos or other documents used in the
6predecisional deliberations.

7(B) The strategy to be used to develop or
8achieve the successful adoption of a budget,
9legislative proposal or regulation.

10(ii) Subparagraph (i)(A) shall apply to agencies
11subject to 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 7 (relating to open meetings)
12in a manner consistent with 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 7. A record
13which is not otherwise exempt from access under this act
14and which is presented to a quorum for deliberation in
15accordance with 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 7 shall be a public record
16regardless of whether a vote occurs at the meeting.

17* * *

18(13) Records that would disclose the identity of, or 
19financial information relating to, an individual who lawfully
20makes a donation to an agency unless the donation is intended
21for or restricted to providing remuneration or personal
22tangible benefit to a named public official or employee of
23the agency, including lists of potential donors compiled by
24an agency to pursue donations, donor profile information or
25personal identifying information relating to a donor.

26* * *

27(17) [A] Except for a safety inspection report made 
28pursuant to Federal or State law, a record of an agency
29relating to a noncriminal investigation, including:

30(i) Complaints submitted to an agency.

1(ii) Investigative materials, notes, correspondence
2and reports.

3(iii) A record that includes the identity of a
4confidential source, including individuals subject to the
5act of December 12, 1986 (P.L.1559, No.169), known as the
6Whistleblower Law.

7(iv) A record that includes information made
8confidential by law.

9(v) Work papers underlying an audit.

10(vi) A record that, if disclosed, would do any of
11the following:

12(A) Reveal the institution, progress or result
13of an agency investigation, except the imposition of
14a fine or civil penalty, the suspension, modification
15or revocation of a license, permit, registration,
16certification or similar authorization issued by an
17agency or an executed settlement agreement unless the
18agreement is determined to be confidential by a
19court.

20(B) Deprive a person of the right to an
21impartial adjudication.

22(C) Constitute an unwarranted invasion of
23privacy.

24(D) Hinder an agency's ability to secure an
25administrative or civil sanction.

26(E) Endanger the life or physical safety of an
27individual.

28(18) Emergency dispatches as follows:

29(i) Records or parts of records, except time
30response logs, pertaining to audio recordings, telephone

1or radio transmissions received by emergency dispatch
2personnel, including 911 recordings.

3(ii) This paragraph shall not apply to a 911
4recording, or a transcript of a 911 recording, if the
5agency or a court determines that the public interest in
6disclosure outweighs the interest in nondisclosure.

7(iii) The home address of the individual who
8accesses emergency dispatch. The record may include the
9nearest cross streets to that address.

10* * *

11(31) An agency's bank account numbers, bank routing
12numbers, credit card numbers or passwords.

13(32) A record of any of the following:

14(i) A volunteer ambulance service.

15(ii) A volunteer fire company.

16(iii) A volunteer rescue company.

17(iv) A volunteer water rescue company.

18(v) A volunteer organization that provides hazardous
19materials response services.

20(vi) A volunteer organization that provides
21emergency medical services.

22Section 506(d)(1) shall apply to a volunteer organization
23under this paragraph that contracts with a local agency to
24provide services to the local agency.

25(c) Financial records.--The exceptions set forth in
26subsection (b) shall not apply to financial records, except that
27an agency may redact that portion of a financial record
28protected under subsection (b)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6),
29(11), (13), (16) or (17). An agency shall not disclose the
30identity of an individual performing an undercover or covert law

1enforcement activity.

2* * *

3Section 7. Sections 901 and 1101 of the act are amended to
4read:

5Section 901. General rule.

6(a) Determination.---Upon receipt of a written request for
7access to a record, an agency shall make a good faith effort to
8determine if the record requested is a public record,
9legislative record or financial record and whether the agency
10has possession, custody or control of the identified record, and
11to respond as promptly as possible under the circumstances
12existing at the time of the request. All applicable fees shall
13be paid in order to receive access to the record requested.

14(b) Time for response.---The time for response shall not
15exceed:

16(1) In the case of a request made in person or submitted 
17by regular mail, e-mail, web form, facsimile or similar 
18means, five business days from the date the written request
19is received by the open-records officer for an agency. If the
20agency fails to send the response within five business days
21of receipt of the written request for access, the written
22request for access shall be deemed denied.

23(2) (Reserved).

24Section 1101. Filing of appeal.

25[(a) Authorization.--

26(1) If a written request for access to a record is]

27(a) Authorization.--The following shall apply:

28(1) (i) If a written request for access to a record is
29denied or deemed denied, the requester may file an appeal
30with the Office of Open Records or judicial, legislative

1or other appeals officer designated under section 503(d)
2within [15] 20 business days of the [mailing] postmark
3date of the agency's response or within [15] 20 business
4days of a deemed denial, whichever comes first.

5(ii) The appeal shall [state the grounds upon which
6the requester asserts that the record is a public record,
7legislative record or financial record and shall address
8any grounds stated by the agency for delaying or denying
9the request.] include the following:

10(A) A copy of the original request.

11(B) The agency denial.

12(C) A list of the records that were denied.

13(iii) The office shall provide a form on its
14publicly accessible Internet website which may be used by
15the requester to file the appeal.

16(2) Except as provided in section 503(d), in the case of
17an appeal of a decision by a Commonwealth agency or local
18agency, the Office of Open Records shall assign an appeals
19officer to review the denial.

20(b) Determination.--

21(1) Unless the requester agrees otherwise, the appeals
22officer shall make a final determination which shall be
23mailed to the requester and the agency within 30 days of
24receipt of the appeal filed under subsection (a). The appeals 
25officer may extend this deadline by up to 15 days by 
26providing notice to both parties. If a hearing or in-camera 
27review is held under section 1102(a)(2), the appeals officer 
28may extend the deadline up to 90 additional days.

29(1.1) If the issue before the office is substantially
30the same as an issue currently on appeal to Commonwealth

1Court, the appeals officer may stay the appeal until
2Commonwealth Court issues a decision on the matter.

3(2) If the office or other appeals officer fails to
4issue a final determination within 30 days, the appeal is
5deemed denied.

6(3) Prior to issuing a final determination, a hearing
7may be conducted. The determination by the appeals officer
8shall be a final order. The appeals officer shall provide a
9written explanation of the reason for the decision to the
10requester and the agency.

11(c) Direct interest.--

12(1) A person other than the agency or requester with a
13direct interest in the record subject to an appeal under this
14section may, within 15 days following receipt of actual
15knowledge of the appeal but no later than the date the
16appeals officer issues an order, file a written request to
17provide information or to appear before the appeals officer
18or to file information in support of the requester's or
19agency's position.

20(2) The appeals officer may grant a request under
21paragraph (1) if:

22(i) no hearing has been held;

23(ii) the appeals officer has not yet issued its
24order; and

25(iii) the appeals officer believes the information
26will be probative.

27(3) Copies of the written request shall be sent to the
28agency and the requester.

29Section 8. Section 1102(a) of the act is amended and the
30section is amended by adding a subsection to read:

1Section 1102. Appeals officers.

2(a) Duties.--An appeals officer designated under section 503
3shall do all of the following:

4(1) Set a schedule for the requester and the open-
5records officer to submit documents in support of their
6positions.

7(2) Review all information filed relating to the
8request. The appeals officer may hold a hearing or conduct an 
9in-camera review under subsection (c), in which case the 
10appeals officer may extend the deadline in section 1101(b)(1) 
11by up to 90 days. A decision to hold or not to hold a hearing
12is not appealable. The appeals officer may admit into
13evidence testimony, evidence and documents that the appeals
14officer believes to be reasonably probative and relevant to
15an issue in dispute. The appeals officer may limit the nature
16and extent of evidence found to be cumulative.

17(3) Consult with agency counsel as appropriate.

18(4) Issue a final determination on behalf of the Office
19of Open Records or other agency.

20* * *

21(c) Review.--The Office of Open Records may require an
22agency to submit a record for the purpose of conducting an in-
23camera review to determine if the record is a public record.

24Section 9. Section 1301 heading and (a) of the act are
25amended to read:

26Section 1301. Commonwealth agencies, legislative agencies
27[and], judicial agencies and the Office of Open 
28Records.

29(a) General rule.--Within 30 days of the mailing date of the
30final determination of the appeals officer relating to a

1decision of a Commonwealth agency, a legislative agency [or], a
2judicial agency or the Office of Open Records issued under
3section 1101(b) or the date a request for access is deemed
4denied, a requester or the agency may file a petition for review
5or other document as might be required by rule of court with the
6Commonwealth Court. The court shall notify the Commonwealth 
7agency, legislative agency, judicial agency or Office of Open 
8Records of the appeal. The decision of the court shall contain
9findings of fact and conclusions of law based upon the evidence
10as a whole. The decision shall clearly and concisely explain the
11rationale for the decision.

12* * *

13Section 10. Section 1307(h) of the act is amended and the
14section is amended by adding a subsection to read:

15Section 1307. Fee limitations.

16* * *

17(g.1) Additional fees.--

18(1) Notwithstanding subsection (e), each agency may
19assess fees for responding to commercial requests under this
20act. In addition to fees under subsections (a) and (b),
21reasonable standard charges may be charged for document
22search, review and redaction for documents for commercial
23use.

24(2) Fees under paragraph (1) must be calculated at no
25more than the hourly wage of the lowest-paid public employee
26of the agency who is capable of searching, retrieving,
27reviewing and providing for redaction of the information
28necessary to comply with the request.

29(h) Prepayment.--Prior to granting a request for access in
30accordance with this act, an agency may require a requester to

1prepay an estimate of the fees authorized under this section if
2the fees required to fulfill the request are expected to exceed
3[$100] $50.

4Section 11. Section 1310 of the act is amended to read:

5Section 1310. Office of Open Records.

6(a) Establishment.--There is established [in the Department
7of Community and Economic Development an] the Office of Open
8Records, as an independent agency. The office shall do all of
9the following:

10(1) Provide information relating to the implementation
11and enforcement of this act.

12(2) Issue advisory opinions to agencies and requesters.

13(3) Provide annual training courses to agencies, public 
14officials and public employees on this act and 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 
157 (relating to open meetings).

16(4) Provide annual, regional training courses to local
17agencies, public officials and public employees.

18(5) Assign appeals officers to review appeals of
19decisions by Commonwealth agencies or local agencies, except
20as provided in section 503(d), filed under section 1101 and
21issue orders and opinions. The office shall employ or
22contract with attorneys to serve as appeals officers to
23review appeals and, if necessary, to hold hearings on a
24regional basis under this act. Each appeals officer must
25comply with all of the following:

26(i) Complete a training course provided by the
27Office of Open Records prior to acting as an appeals
28officer.

29(ii) If a hearing is necessary, hold hearings
30regionally as necessary to ensure access to the remedies

1provided by this act.

2(iii) Comply with the procedures under section
31102(b).

4(6) Establish an informal mediation program to resolve
5disputes under this act.

6(7) Establish an Internet website with information
7relating to this act, including information on fees, advisory
8opinions and decisions and the name and address of all open
9records officers in this Commonwealth.

10(8) Conduct a biannual review of fees charged under this
11act.

12(9) Annually report on its activities and findings to
13the Governor and the General Assembly. The report shall be
14posted and maintained on the Internet website established
15under paragraph (7).

16(b) Executive director.--Within 90 days of the effective 
17date of this section, the Governor shall appoint an executive 
18director of the office who shall serve for a term of six years. 
19Compensation shall be set by the Executive Board established 
20under section 204 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), 
21known as The Administrative Code of 1929. The executive director 
22may serve no more than two terms.

23(c) Limitation.--The executive director shall not seek
24election nor accept appointment to any political office during
25his tenure as executive director and for one year thereafter.

26(d) Staffing.--The executive director shall appoint 
27attorneys to act as appeals officers and additional clerical, 
28technical and professional staff as may be appropriate and may 
29contract for additional services as necessary for the 
30performance of the executive director's duties. The compensation 

1of attorneys and other staff shall be set by the Executive 
2Board. The appointment of attorneys shall not be subject to the 
3act of October 15, 1980 (P.L.950, No.164), known as the 
4Commonwealth Attorneys Act.

5(e) Duties.--The executive director shall ensure that the
6duties of the Office of Open Records are carried out and shall
7monitor cases appealed to the Office of Open Records.

8(e.1) Public comment.--The office shall abstain from public
9comment about a pending proceeding before the office. This
10subsection shall not prohibit the executive director from making
11public statements in the course of official duties, from issuing
12written advisory opinions, from making general comments on this
13act that are not related to a pending case or from explaining
14the procedures of the office.

15(f) Appropriation.--The appropriation for the office shall
16be in a separate line item and shall be under the jurisdiction
17of the executive director.

18(g) Participation.--The office may participate as amicus
19curiae in an appeal from a decision of the office and may, upon
20approval of an appellate court, participate in oral argument.

21Section 12. This act shall take effect in 90 days.