An Act amending the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law, in State contract information, further providing for submission and retention of contracts.
HB279 amends Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law provisions governing state contract information. The bill raises the contract-reporting threshold from $5,000 to $10,000 for contracts entered into by Commonwealth, legislative, or judicial agencies, while continuing to require filing of covered contracts with the Treasury Department within 10 days after execution or when the obligation arises. It also keeps the existing exclusion for privileged services and clarifies that purchase orders tied to existing contracts are not covered, though purchase orders creating new obligations are covered.
The bill also makes contract reporting more mandatory and more enforceable. It changes Treasury’s authority to require contract summaries from permissive to mandatory, and it specifies the information that must be included in each summary, such as execution date, amount, term, parties, agency name, and subject matter. Agencies must maintain the data in a Treasury-approved electronic format, and Treasury must notify agencies twice a year of their filing obligations. Agencies must then attest that required contracts have been submitted, with those attestations posted publicly. If an agency fails to attest or file a required contract, Treasury may delay, reject, or withhold approval of payment requests tied to the contract until compliance is achieved.
HB279 would amend Section 1701 of the Right-to-Know Law, affecting how state-level agencies document and report contracts. It increases the monetary threshold for filing contracts with Treasury, but adds stronger administrative reporting, attestation, and enforcement requirements for Commonwealth, legislative, and judicial agencies. The bill would also expand public transparency by requiring public posting of agency attestations and noncompliance lists on Treasury’s website.
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes, the measure appears to be framed as a government transparency and compliance bill rather than a controversial policy overhaul. Its sponsors likely intend to improve oversight of contract reporting and payment controls. Because no transcripts or votes are available, there is no documented public sentiment in the record provided, but the structure of the bill suggests a generally administrative and accountability-focused purpose.
The main policy tension in HB279 is between transparency/enforcement and administrative burden. Supporters would likely favor the stronger filing deadlines, mandatory summaries, public attestations, and Treasury’s ability to withhold payments as tools to improve compliance. Potential critics may object to the increased reporting obligations, the possibility of delayed payments for noncompliance, and the higher $10,000 threshold, which could reduce reporting for smaller contracts even as enforcement becomes stricter for covered ones. No specific stakeholder objections are recorded in the provided materials.