448 Pa. 424 | Pa. | 1972
Lead Opinion
Opinion by
This appeal requires us to decide whether Temple University of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education
Appellants, students at Temple, a member of the faculty, and the University Student Senate through its guardian ad litem,
The Inspection and Copying Records Act provides that “[ejvery public record of an agency shall, at reasonable times, be open for examination and inspection by any citizen of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” Act of June 21, 1957, P. L. 390, §2, 65 P.S. §66.2. An “agency” is defined as: “Any department, board, or commission of the executive branch of the Commonwealth, any political subdivision of the Commonwealth, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, or any state or municipal authority or similar organisation created by or pursuant to a statute which declares in substance that such organization performs or has for its purpose the performance of an essential governmental function.” Id. §1, 65 P.S. §66.1(1) (emphasis added).
We conclude, as did the Commonwealth Court, that this latter declaration reveals an express legislative intent to preserve Temple’s status as a non-profit corporation chartered for educational purposes. The recent by Temple of increased state financial aid no more transforms Temple into a state “agency” than the receipt of federal funds can make Temple an agency of the federal government. A review of the Temple Uni
Appellants rely on various provisions of the Temple University-Commonwealth Act to bolster their contentions. They emphasize that the act altered the board of trustees by providing for appointment of four trustees respectively by the Governor, the President pro tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House.
The majority of non-public trustees clearly retains the powers to manage and control the University. The act in its legislative findings describing Temple’s status prior to passage of the act specifically declares that “Temple University owns and maintains land, buildings, and other facilities which are used, together with land and buildings owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for higher education, which land, buildings, and other facilities are under the entire control and management of the board of trustees. . . .”
The act also directs that “[i]n accordance with legislative appropriations made as provided by law, the Commonwealth may, by agreement with the board of
Appellants also rely on fiscal controls, provided by the Temple University-Commonwealth Act to facilitate Commonwealth inspection of the University’s expenditures of Commonwealth funds, to support their contention that Temple is now a state “agency”. We are unpersuaded.
The Temple University-Commonwealth Act has clearly authorized increased financial assistance to Temple from the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is obligated to provide sufficient funds to enable Temple to maintain the legislatively determined tuition and fee schedules.
The Legislature in this instance provided several ways to assure proper expenditures of its appropriated funds. The act provides that “[f]or the purpose of
This regulatory scheme provided by the Legislature to safeguard against improper expenditures of public funds in no way intrudes upon or alters Temple’s status as a non-profit corporation chartered for educational purposes. The express limitation of this regulatory scheme to the funds “maintained” in the Commonwealth Appropriation Account is another indication of the Legislature’s intention to preserve Temple’s prior status, and not to transform Temple into a state “agency”.
Finally, we must note that the Legislature has provided for disclosure of Temple’s financial expenditures of both its public and private funds. As stated previous
We must conclude, from our view of the statutes in question, that the Legislature by increasing its financial assistance to Temple did not alter Temple’s status as a non-profit corporation chartered for educational purposes and clearly did not transform Temple into a state “agency” for purposes of the Inspection and Copying Records Act.
The decree of the Commonwealth Court sustaining the preliminary objections is affirmed. Each party to pay own costs.
Hereinafter referred to as Temple.
Act of June 21, 1957, P. L. 390, §§1 et seq., 65 P.S. §§66.1 et seq.
Id. §2, 65 P.S. §66.2.
The act provides the right of inspection to “any citizen,” Id., and only “citizens” can seek judicial enforcement of rights under the act. Id. §4, 05 P.S. §66.4, repealed in part, Act of July 31, 1970, P. L. 673, §508 (a) (90), 17 P.S. §221.508(a) (90). One of the named parties in this action is the Student University Senate through its guardian ad litem. Since the Temple University Student Senate is not a “citizen” of Pennsylvania, it clearly lacks standing to enforce rights under the act. Of course, any of its members who are citizens of Pennsylvania have standing to sue in their individual capacities.
Appellants’ amended complaint in trespass, paragraph 17.
Id., paragraph 18.
See note 10 infra.
The act also defines “public record” as follows: “Any account, voucher or contract dealing with the receipt or disbursement of funds by any agency or its acquisition, use or disposal of services or of supplies, materials, equipment or other property and any minute, order or decision by an agency fixing the personal or property rights, privileges, immunities, duties or obligations of any person or group of persons: Provided, That the term ‘public records’ shall not mean any report, communication or other paper, the publication of which would disclose the institution, progress or result of an investigation undertaken by an agency in the performance of its official duties or any record, document, material, exhibit, pleading, report, memorandum or other paper, access to or the publication of which is prohibited, restricted or forbidden by statute law or order or decree of court, or which would operate to the prejudice or impairment of a person’s reputation or personal security, or which would result in the loss by the Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions or commissions or State or municipal authorities of Federal funds, excepting therefrom, however,
Even were we to assume for the moment that Temple was subject to the disclosure requirements of the Inspection and Copying Records Act, appellants’ request for information is so broad and sweeping that it reaches beyond the rights of inspection provided by the act. The act authorizes inspection of “[ejvery public record,” Id. §2, 65 P.S. §66.2, which is defined above as “[a]ny account, voucher, or contract . . . minute, order or decision. . . Id. §1, 65 P.S. §66.1. The Legislature’s use of the singular preceded by “any” indicates clearly its intention to require that requests for inspection be specific and particular seeking disclosure of named documents or records rather than broad and unlimited requests for undefined bodies of documents or records. This requirement of specific requests for information is, of course, necessary to prevent agencies from suffering undue interference and obstruction of their daily functions; interference and obstructions would be unavoidable if agency officials always could be subjected to broad and unlimited requests for documents and records. Commonwealth ex rel. Eagen v. Dunmore B. Sch. Dirs., 343 Pa. 440, 443, 23 A. 2d 468, 470 (1942); see Irons v. Schuyler, 321 F. Supp. 628, 629 (D.C.D.C. 1970); Bruce v. Gregory, 65 Cal. 2d 666, 423 P. 2d 193 (1967); Linder v. Eckard, 261 Iowa 216, 152 N.W. 2d 833 (1967).
Irons v. Schuyler, supra, involved requests for information from the Patent Office under the Freedom of Information Act, Act of September 6, 1966, Pub. L. 89-554, 80 Stat. 383, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3), which authorizes a “request for identifiable records.” Id. (emphasis added). The district court observed in denying relief: “The request in the instant case ‘for all unpublished manuscript decisions’ is not a reasonable request for identifiable records, but rather a broad, sweeping, indiscriminate request for production lacking any specificity. ‘All decisions’ is not a reasonable identifiable description, any more than asking for all the books in a particular library or all of the unpublished opinions of the United States District Courts. ... A request for all is not specific enough to decide if any particular decision or decisions can be made available.” Irons v. Schuyler, 321 F. Supp. 628, 629 (D.C.D.C. 1970).
The request, made in this case, for inspection of “financial and budgetary information,” Appellant’s Amended Complaint in Trespass, paragraph 17, is a “broad, sweeping indiscriminate request for production lacking any specificity.” Irons v. Schuyler, 321 F. Supp. 628, 629 (D.C.D.C. 1970). To satisfy this request, Temple would have to produce all its voluminous financial records and budgetary information without any limits or restraints. The Inspection and Copying Records Act clearly did not intend to place such an onerous burden on those agencies subject to its disclosure requirements.
Act of June 21, 1957, P. L. 390, §1, 65 P.S. §66.1(1) (emphasis added).
Id. Appellants also based their request to inspect on the common law. There is a well-established right at common law to inspect public records upon request in a reasonable manner. Wiley v. Woods, 393 Pa. 341, 347-48 349 n.8, 141 A. 2d 844, 846-48, 848 n.8 (1958) (and cases cited therein) ; Simon Election Case, 353 Pa. 514, 518, 46 A. 2d 243, 245 (1946). It is unquestioned that the right to inspect public documents was no broader at common law than it is presently under the statute; it may have been more restricted by being limited only to persons with a “personal or property interest” in the matter sought to be disclosed. Wiley v. Woods, 393 Pa. 341, 347-50, 141 A. 2d 844, 848-49 (1958). Therefore,
Pursuant to the Act of April 29, 1874, P. L. 73. This is a statutory predecessor of the Non-Profit Corporation Raw, Act of May 5, 1933, P. L. 289, art. I et seq., §§1 et seq., as amended, 15 P.S. §§7001 et seq.
Act of November 30, 1965, P. L. 843, §2(2), 24 P.S. §2510-2(2).
Id.
Id. §3, 24 P.S. §2510-3.
Id. §2, 24 P.S. §2510-2(7).
Id. §3, 24 P.S. §2510-3.
Id. §4, 24 P.S. §2510-4.
Id. §2(6), 24 P.S. §2510 2(6) (emphasis added).
Id. §5, 24 P.S. §2510-5.
Id.
Id. §7, 24 P.S. §2510-7 (emphasis added).
Id. §6, 24 P.S. §2510-6.
Id. §7, 24 P.S. §2510-7.
Id. §9, 24 P.S. §2510-9.
M. §8, 24 P.S. §2510-8 (emphasis added).
Id. The requirement that Temple file a record of both its public and private expenditures with the Auditor General and the Legislature is in no way inconsistent with our conclusion here. To the extent that the need for public fnnds at Temple will in part be determined by the availability of private fnnds, it is clearly in the Legislature’s interest to be informed as to the state of Temple’s private expenditures.
Id.
Id. The Auditor General’s Report to the Legislature is also available to the public through the Auditor General’s office.
Id. §10, 24 P.S. §2510-10. This report is available to the public through Temple University.
Dissenting Opinion
Dissenting Opinion by
Temple University of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education is a state agency subject to the Inspection and Copying Records Act (Inspection Act).
The definition includes organizations similar to state or municipal authorities and there is modifying language after the words similar organisations which cannot be ignored.
State or municipal authorities are corporate entities with boards appointed by government officials, performing essential governmental functions by the authorized receipt and disbursement of taxpayers’ money. These enumerated qualities of an authority are the essential qualities of an authority. Any organization possessing these same qualities must be an agency as defined by the Act—otherwise the use of the term similar organisation in the Act would be meaningless.
Similar organisation does not stand isolated in the definition. These two words are followed by language which describes exactly the current legal status of Temple University. In the language of the definition, Temple University of the Commonwealth System of higher Education was created by a statute which declares in substance that Temple University has as its purpose the performance of an essential governmental function.
The vex-y Act which established Temple University of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education provides that Temple University shall be recognized as am integral part of the system of higher education in Pennsylvania, and designates Temple University as a stale-
The Inspection Act modifies the words similm organisation by requiring a statute which declares that the organization performs or has for its purpose the performance of an essential governmental function. The declarations of the Temple University Commonwealth Act are exactly those called for in the definitions section of the Inspection Act.
The Inspection Act does not say that an organization must be identical to a state or municipal authority, it must only be a similar organization and there must be a statute stating that the organization performs essential governmental functions. I doubt if any more similar organization could be legally created in its essential qualities without actually being a state or municipal authority.
I note also that authorities perform essential governmental functions in the field of education—as does Temple University.
Temple University is, thus, subject to the Inspection Act and the appellants are entitled to relief within the limitations of that Act which provides for reasonable controls to avoid any concern with burdensome informational requests. Information which must be submitted by Temple-University to the Auditor General does not exempt Temple University from the Inspection Act any more than authorities are exempt because they too are required to give information to the Auditor General.
The courts have been instructed by the Legislature as to the guides for ascertaining the intention of the Legislature. The Statutory Construction Act requires the courts to be guided by a presumption that the Legis
The order of the Commonwealth Court, sustaining preliminary objections, should be reversed.