Pennsylvania's Right To Know Law (RTKL) (65 P.S. § 66.1 et seq., as amended) is the most powerful tool for citizens to supervise the activity of their government. 

The law gives you acces to all public records which are defined as follows:


"Public record." Any account, voucher or contract dealing with the receipt or disbursement of funds by an 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, except those reports filed by agencies pertaining to safety and health in industrial plants; it shall not include 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 the record of any conviction for any criminal act. 

In order to use your rights under thr RTKL I have attached several RTKL requests which I have made to local agencies (e.g. counties, cities, boroughs and townships) which you may review and adapt for your own use.

 I encourage you to request as much information as you wish from your government and to take suspicion when your request is refused.

Sample sent to the City of Franklin

Sample sent to Venango County