HARRISBURG -- Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi is making good on his promise to work toward strengthening state open-records laws.

Mr. Pileggi, R-Delaware, yesterday introduced a bill that would create the state's first office dedicated to public-record requests.

The Open Records Clearinghouse would respond to information requests and provide advisory opinions on whether records are subject to the state's open-records law.

The bill also would remove the exemption the General Assembly carved out for itself to keep from having to release its own records. Mr. Pileggi also wants courts, state-related universities, community colleges and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency to be subject to the state Right-to-Know law for the first time.

His proposal also would require agencies to respond faster to requests, increase penalties for noncompliance, require agencies to accept information request by e-mail and establish standard fees for photocopying records.

Penalties for failing to comply with the open-records law would increase from $300 to $1,000 for the first offense.

"My legislation would make a number of important changes," Mr. Pileggi said. "This is part of our continuing push to make government at all levels more transparent and responsive."

The bill's introduction comes a week after Mr. Pileggi introduced separate legislation to post all state employee salaries online.

His proposals come as part of a wave of reform that, so far, has come in the form of House and Senate rules, which apply to just one chamber and expire in 2008 when the next session begins.

Mr. Pileggi's efforts lend permanence to the reform movement.

Meanwhile, freshman lawmaker Tim Mahoney, D-South Union, is behind a separate House effort that would provide better public access to legislative spending records, crime reports and more.

Gov. Ed Rendell also has been pressing for reform, including stronger open-records laws, too.

Mr. Rendell's proposal would require all agencies that receive state funding to provide any records that don't jeopardize security of an individual or the state.

If an agency believes a record is not subject to disclosure, the burden would be on that agency to prove it. The current law places the burden on the requester to prove a record should be disclosed.

Mr. Pileggi's proposal does not include a shift in that burden.

It's likely the Legislature will approve some version of open-records legislation this year, said Erik Arneson, spokesman for Mr. Pileggi.

"The atmosphere in Harrisburg is very open right now to the issue. The Senate majority leader and the governor have plans that aren't too different, and House Speaker [Dennis] O'Brien wants to see reform," Mr. Arneson said. "We've not had a situation in Pennsylvania before where three leaders at that level were uniting on, if not behind, the concept."