Staff Reports
In the United States, access to legislative proceedings varies from state to state, with many offering live or on-demand viewing of sessions. Pennsylvania stands out for providing live-streaming of House sessions on YouTube, but does not make recordings of Senate sessions publicly available online, unlike most other states.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Pennsylvania is among just four states—alongside Alabama, Illinois, and Nebraska—that do not archive legislative sessions online. This limitation has drawn criticism, particularly from Andrew McGinley of the Committee of Seventy, who emphasizes that while live streaming is a positive step, access to archived videos is crucial for public understanding of government actions and accountability of elected officials.
Senate session recordings publicly inaccessiblehttps://t.co/v7xcVNVcQg
— The Center Square (@thecentersquare) May 16, 2024
While Senate committee hearings are available online, access to actual floor sessions is not readily accessible to the public. The Senate defends its stance by highlighting a bipartisan consensus on operational procedures, noting that both caucuses offer live streaming capabilities and provide unedited video and audio feeds upon request. However, the lack of default public access to session videos contrasts with other states' practices.
In Pennsylvania, accessing session recordings typically requires a public records request, a process not uncommon for other state agencies. For example, the Department of Environmental Protection’s Environmental Justice Advisory Board also requires requests to view meeting videos. In contrast, some state agencies, like the Pennsylvania Game Commission, automatically post meetings online but schedule public comment periods during early Saturday mornings, potentially limiting public participation.
Pennsylvania's approach to legislative session videos underscores significant differences in transparency and accessibility among state governments. The current system, requiring additional effort from the public to access session recordings, has sparked debates on the most effective methods for promoting government transparency and enhancing citizen engagement.
