In this open-records matter, we are called upon to construe Section 703
of the Right-to-Know Law (RTKL), 65 P.S. § 67.703 (“Section 703”), setting
forth the requirements for written RTKL
requests for access to public records, to determine proper application of the provision which directs that all such requests
“must be addressed to the open-records officer.”
For reasons stated below, we
hold that in order to establish a valid RTKL request sufficient to trigger
appellate rights from a nonresponse under the RTKL, the requestor must address
his request to the respective open-records officer as mandated in Section 703. In the case at bar, the requester addressed
his request to a press aide, not the open records officer.
Commonwealth Court 4-3 decision reversed.
