An important component of Pennsylvania’s new open records law is now in place.

We refer to an order from the Office of Open Records that establishes fees for providing copies of public records. For the most part, copying fees for state and local government records will be no more than 25 cents per page.

That’s an amount we consider reasonable. Key to the decision is the declaration that government agencies cannot view public records as a way to generate revenue. Making copies is simply an aspect of regular public service.

The question of fees sounds like a trivial matter, but it’s crucial. In some states, relatively strong open records laws have been thwarted by agencies that turn around and charge exorbitant amounts to produce copies of records. What good is a public record if most members of the public can’t afford it?

This is particularly significant with records that can run hundreds of pages.

Pennsylvania is about to undergo a revolution of sorts in terms of public records. The state’s new Right to Know law officially takes effect Jan. 1. The measure strengthens public access to many government documents.

Key to the changes is language in the law that generally recognizes government documents as belonging to the public. Until now, Pennsylvania has been something of a closed shop; only those records directly deemed public are automatically available. Everything else is problematical.

Naturally, the New Castle News and other journalistic organizations welcome the new law. But it’s important to note that when The Associated Press checked a few years ago, it reported that most right to know requests in the commonwealth were filed by private citizens, not news organizations.

The final decision on record fees is the work of Terry Mutchler, Pennsylvania’s director of open records — a newly created post. Mutchler is a lawyer and former journalist with a long history of open records advocacy. Her selection for this position by Gov. Ed Rendell was a wise one.

Mutchler notes that her authority is limited, because records controlled directly by the courts and the Legislature are not covered by the new law. However, her order for copying fees urges these entities to adopt similar guidelines.

We agree. The Office of Open Records has set a solid standard for the rest of government to follow.