Advancement Project v. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
2013 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 21
| Pa. Commw. Ct. | 2013Background
- Schneider sought from PennDOT a four-year records dump: for each driver’s license or non-driver photo ID holder, name, address, date of birth, and SSN or last digits, plus issue and expiration dates, in electronic form under the Right-to-Know Law.
- PennDOT denied the request citing: (i) inability to create a record (RTK §705); (ii) §6114 Vehicle Code confidentiality; (iii) §708(b)(6) privacy-related SSN/license number redactions; (iv) the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA).
- Open Records affirmed that PennDOT would not be forced to create a record and affirmed nondisclosure under §6114, with DPPA cited as prohibiting disclosure of protected data.
- Schneider appealed to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, narrowing the request to name, address, date of birth, and expiration date, and proposing electronic formats; Open Records supplemented the record with PennDOT’s position and sworn affidavit.
- The court reviews RTK determinations independently; it ultimately holds the requested data are not public records and are exempt under the Vehicle Code and Privacy Act, disposing of the public-disclosure question.
- Open Records considered that even non-driver IDs “relate to” a driving record and thus are exempt; it did not reach a liberty to apply the research exception in the Privacy Act within RTK proceedings.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether driver’s licenses are a driving record under §6114 | Schneider argues licenses are not driving records | PennDOT contends licenses relate to driving records | Exempt: licenses relate to driving records, nondisclosable |
| Whether non-driver IDs relate to driving records | Non-driver IDs should be public | They relate to driving records | Exempt: non-driver IDs relate to driving records and are nondisclosable |
| Whether the Privacy Act research exception permits disclosure in RTK | Disclosure for research is permissible | RTK cannot rely on Privacy Act exceptions | Not applicable in RTK; records not public |
| Whether Privacy Act prohibits disclosure of names, addresses, DOBs but allows redaction | Data could be released with redactions | Personal data protected; must withhold | Redaction under §706 does not render data public; data not public |
Key Cases Cited
- Pennsylvania State Police v. Office of Open Records, 995 A.2d 515 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2010) (RTK status and redaction framework for publicly releasable records)
- Bowling v. Office of Open Records, 990 A.2d 813 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2010) (independent review of agency determinations in RTK proceedings)