HARRISBURG -- Everyone agreed that government records should be open to public inspection, but when it came to the details, speakers at a public hearing yesterday were divided.

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence wants to prevent disclosure of 911 call recordings. But Carl Lavin, deputy managing editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, said such access would allow residents to evaluate how well and how quickly emergency workers respond.

Barry Kauffman, of Common Cause Pennsylvania, said the public is entitled to know how state-related universities spend money, and school officials agreed -- to a point. George Moore, secretary of Temple University's board of trustees, said salaries of mid- and low-ranking university workers are no one's business.

They were among 17 people who testified yesterday at a hearing of the House State Government Committee to discuss an open records bill proposed by Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-South Union.

"The good thing is that no one really attacked the bill. There was no major disagreement," Mr. Mahoney said after the six-hour hearing.

Still, it won't be easy to find a compromise that addresses the public's right to information and individuals' right to privacy, said committee Chairwoman Babette Josephs, D-Philadelphia.

"We all understand this is a balancing act, and we're looking to find the right fulcrum," she said.

Ellen Kramer, of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, wants to restrict access to autopsy reports and 911 calls because seeing and hearing them could be traumatic to crime victims and their families.

Rep. Kerry A. Benninghoff, a former coroner, said that kind of information could benefit the public.

"A lot of times people are concerned about what might have been occurring versus what actually was occurring. Sometimes information makes people feel safer," said Mr. Benninghoff, R-Centre.

Philadelphia government gadfly Edmund Goppelt said he has been fighting for access to casino applications, but "whole swaths" of information have been denied.

He requested Foxwoods Casino's application to operate in Philadelphia but was allowed to see only two of the 11 boxes of materials, he said.

"I understand the need to keep some things confidential, but in the case of gaming in Pennsylvania, we have gone way, way overboard," said Mr. Goppelt, who runs Hallwatch.org, a Web site critical of government. "Give the public a peek into what the gaming board is doing."

Attorneys for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board testified that disclosure would compromise casino operators' proprietary information. The act that legalized casinos exempts many of its records from disclosure, they said.

Applicants submitted volumes of trade secrets, financial information and criminal background checks with the understanding that most of those documents would be confidential, said Mozelle Daniels, deputy chief counsel for the gaming board.

Mr. Mahoney said he believes his legislation would supersede the gaming law's confidentiality clause, but would not apply retroactively. Records already in the board's possession would continue to be exempt, he said.

"The requirement will start on the day we enact the legislation and go forward," he said. "I'm not looking to dredge up old dogs. This is a new day in Pennsylvania."