In the wake of the alleged sex abuse scandal that has resulted in the firing of several top Penn State officials, a Pennsylvania lawmaker is reportedly planning to introduce legislation that would alter the state's open records law as it pertains to state-related universities.

Under the current open records law, Penn State and several other state-supported universities are not required to provide much more than an annual report disclosing the salaries of top officials and the 25 highest-paid employees. State Rep. Kerry Benninghoff believes this should change, in light of the recent sex crimes charges filed against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

When the open records laws were overhauled in 2008, the then-president of Penn State argued that the university would lose millions in donations from donors who did not want their names published. Benninghoff now says that the point is moot under an exemption to the reporting law for donors to an agency.

According to a report in the Centre Daily Times, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett believes that the scandal may have been avoided if Penn State officials had been required to provide more information to the public. Several university officials have been accused of failing to report the alleged abuse despite knowing about it for several years.

Rep. Benninghoff says that he has received multiple requests to alter the open records laws, especially as they pertain to the reporting of suspected child abuse. "Any obstacle that we can eliminate to prevent something like this from happening again...is important," he said.

What do you think? Would more stringent reporting requirements have prevented the alleged abuse from occurring?

Source: Centre Daily Times, "Benninghoff looks to close PSU open records loopholes," Jessica VanderKolk, Nov. 22, 2011