Pennsylvania's legislative reform movement, such as it is, will reach a pivotal point as early as tomorrow, when the House State Government Committee could vote on a new open-records law.

Although the General Assembly's new leaders promised a laundry list of reforms this year, their initiative is still very much a work in progress. But if the lawmakers, in the next month or so, send to the governor a right-to-know law that is worthy of the 21st century, they will show they are serious about delivering reform.

The state's legal definition of a public record was adopted during the Eisenhower administration. While that was 50 years ago and most states have since updated their laws, this Legislature has been slow to embrace an effective, modern statute. Any reform measure must acknowledge e-mail, recognize electronic records, begin with the presumption that all records are public with few exceptions and create an enforcement mechanism to keep public documents open and available.

Although there are at least three bills pending that would advance the cause of reform, the one that could get a committee vote this week is House Bill 443, sponsored by Rep. Tim Mahoney, a Democrat from South Union in Fayette County. Such approval would tell the rest of the House and the full Senate that it's time to join the rest of the nation in giving the people unfettered access to the people's business.

Let the work begin now so the new law can reach the governor's desk by Thanksgiving.