The Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents' Association should continue to criticize a decision by the chief clerk's office in the state House that would delay the media and public from obtaining copies of roll call votes.

While the chief clerk and lawmakers were correct in being concerned about disruptions to their proceedings, especially from some lobbyists' bothersome attempts to quickly gain access to such information, the remedial action should have been directed at lobbyists, not those whose job it is to report legislative activities to lawmakers' constituents throughout the commonwealth.

Lobbyists are in Harrisburg on behalf of their own special interests; they should be made to wait for a time convenient to the legislature for dissemination of information.

The media work in the state capital on behalf of all state residents' best interests, and it is in all state residents' best interests to have access to the results of important legislative business as quickly as possible.

How their individual lawmakers voted is important to those concerned about specific issues.

What the House chief clerk's office announced is that no one besides lawmakers and staff on the House floor would be permitted to get copies of roll call votes during voting sessions. According to a memo from the chief clerk's office, dated Oct. 5, the public can get copies of the roll calls from that office after each daily session ends.

John L. Micek, president of the legislative correspondents' group, has explained the problem surrounding the new rule.

"While this sounds fine . . . on its face, it's all but unworkable as a matter of practice since the clerk's office tends to close not long after (the) session ends — a time when most of us are on deadline for the next day."

The new rule runs counter to the basic premise of lawmakers' primary responsibility being to the public, not to their own convenience.

"Fairness" to lobbyists should be outside the realm of priority, even though in reality it isn't.

The new rule supposedly was deemed necessary because lobbyists frequently were demanding roll call results from House pages, interfering with the pages' duty to assist lawmakers during a session.

"You had the lobbyists bothering the pages after every single vote, and they weren't able to do their jobs," said Steve Miskin, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson.

According to Miskin, the House is arranging to have roll calls faxed to the Capitol pressroom immediately after the session ends.

But that isn't good enough, in terms of the public's right to know, considering the different deadlines under which the various media must operate.

Smith said Friday he would ensure that reporters receive prompt access to copies of roll call votes, but how remains to be seen.

With the House still being looked upon unfavorably because of its role in the controversial, secret, middle-of-the-night July 2005 pay-raise vote, it ought to be trying to improve its image by consistently accommodating the right-to-know needs of its constituents, not trying to undermine those needs.

It's good that Smith and his colleagues are rethinking their misguided decision as it affects their constitutents.

The restrictions deemed necessary to end the disruptions caused by lobbyists should remain in place.