PUBLIC AGENCY OPEN MEETING LAW (SUNSHINE LAW) - REPEALED — 1974 Pa. Act 175 (historical enacted text)

Historical Act text

SENATE AMENDED
PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 144, 951, 1638, PRINTER'S NO. 3511
1751, 1792, 2188, 2312, 2375, 2417, 2428,
3391
INTRODUCED BY MESSRS. KNEPPER, M. E. MILLER, BUTERA, TURNER,
SCIRICA, BERKES, HOPKINS, WISE, SHANE, HASKELL, R. W. WILT,
FISCHER, DOYLE AND BIXLER, JANUARY 23, 1973
AS AMENDED ON SECOND CONSIDERATION, IN SENATE, JULY 8, 1974
AN ACT
1 Requiring public agencies to hold certain meetings and hearings
2 open to the public and providing penalties.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. As used in this act:
6 "Agency" means any BRANCH, department, board, authority or <--
7 commission of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, any political
8 subdivision of the Commonwealth, or any State, municipal,
9 township or school authority, school board, school governing
10 body, commission, the board of trustees of all State-aided
11 colleges and universities, the board of trustees of all State-
12 owned and State-related colleges and universities and all
13 community colleges, or similar organization created by or
14 pursuant to a statute which declares in substance that the
15 organization performs or has for its purpose the performance of
16 an essential governmental function: Provided, That the term
1 "agency" shall include the courts of common pleas when <--
2 appointing members of boards of education and boards of viewers
3 in counties of the second class. The term "agency" shall not
4 include the General Assembly, the Judicial Department, or any <--
5 State department, board, authority or commission performing <--
6 quasi-judicial, quasi-legislative functions TO INCLUDE THE <--
7 GOVERNOR'S CABINET WHEN MEETING ON OFFICIAL POLICY MAKING
8 BUSINESS.
9 "Formal action" means the taking of any vote on any
10 resolution, rule, order, motion, regulation or ordinance or the <--
11 taking of any minutes required by law OR THE SETTING OF ANY <--
12 OFFICIAL POLICY. MEETINGS, PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCES, HEARINGS, AND
13 FORMAL ACTION BY THE JUDICIARY OR JUDICIAL BRANCH SHALL NOT BE
14 SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT.
15 Section 2. The meetings or hearings of every agency at which
16 formal action is scheduled or taken are public meetings and
17 shall be open to the public at all times. No formal action shall
18 be valid unless such formal action is taken during a public
19 meeting. nor shall any formal action be valid if reasonable <--
20 public discussion is requested by a member of the agency or a
21 member of the public present at the meeting and refused.
22 Section 3. No public meeting of any agency shall be
23 adjourned, begun, recessed or interrupted in any way for the
24 purpose of an executive session except as hereinafter provided.
25 An executive session may be held during the course of a properly
26 constituted public meeting upon notification to the public
27 present by the presiding officer that for a period not to exceed
28 thirty minutes the meeting will be in recess for the purpose of:
29 (1) Considering dismissal or disciplining of, or hearing
30 complaints or charges brought against a public elected officer,
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1 employee, or other public agent unless such person requests a
2 public hearing.
3 (2) Considering actions of the deliberating body with
4 respect to labor negotiations. or for the purchase or <--
5 disposition of real property. This section shall not be intended
6 to prohibit executive sessions: Provided, That no formal action
7 be taken during such executive sessions.
8 Section 4. The minutes of a public meeting of an agency
9 shall be taken and promptly recorded and shall be a public
10 record under and subject to the act of June 21, 1957 (P.L.390,
11 No.212), entitled "An act requiring certain records of the
12 Commonwealth and its political subdivisions and of certain
13 authorities and other agencies performing essential governmental
14 functions, to be open for examination and inspection by citizens
15 of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; authorizing such citizens
16 under certain conditions to make extracts, copies, photographs
17 or photostats of such records; and providing for appeals to the
18 courts of common pleas."
19 Section 5. (a) Every agency shall hold all public meetings
20 at specified times and places of which public notice shall be
21 given.
22 (b) Public notice of the schedule of regular meetings shall
23 be given once for each calendar or fiscal year, and shall show
24 the regular dates and times for meetings and the place at which
25 meetings are held. Public notice of each special meeting or
26 hearing and of each rescheduled regular or special meeting or
27 hearing shall be given of the date, time and place of each
28 meeting as the case may be. Public notice shall be given (i) by
29 publishing the notice once in a newspaper of general
30 circulation, as defined by the act of May 16, 1929 (P.L.1784,
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1 No.587), known as the "Newspaper Advertising Act," which is
2 published and circulated in the political subdivision where the
3 meeting or hearing will be held, or such newspaper of general
4 circulation which has a bona fide paid circulation equal to or
5 greater than any newspaper published in the said political
6 subdivision; (ii) and by posting a copy of the notice
7 prominently at the principal office of the agency holding the
8 meeting or at the public building in which the meeting is to be
9 held.
10 (c) Public notice shall be given at least three days prior
11 to the time of the first regularly scheduled meeting in the case
12 of regular meetings, and at least twenty-four hours prior to the
13 time of the meeting in the case of special or rescheduled
14 meetings or hearings.
15 (d) Publication in the legal periodical in the county shall
16 not be required. The agency holding any meeting shall supply, on
17 request, copies of the public notice thereof to any newspaper of
18 general circulation in the political subdivision in which the
19 meeting will be held and to any radio and television station
20 which regularly broadcasts into the political subdivision.
21 (e) Sections 2 and 5 of this act shall not apply when an
22 agency holds a meeting to deal with an actual emergency
23 involving a clear and present danger to life or property.
24 Members of such agency holding such meetings shall not be in
25 violation of these sections when such meetings are held.
26 (F) "GIVING PUBLIC NOTICE" SHALL INCLUDE MAILING NOTICE OF <--
27 THE TIME, PLACE AND DATE OF A MEETING PROVIDED THE NOTIFIED
28 PARTY SUPPLIES A STAMPED, SELF-ADDRESSED ENVELOPE PRIOR TO THE
29 MEETING.
30 Section 6. Nothing in this act shall prohibit the agency
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1 from adopting by formal action such rules and regulations as
2 necessary for the conduct of its meetings. Additionally, the
3 members of the agency conducting the meeting may at the time of
4 any disturbance which would render the ordinary conduct of the
5 meeting unfeasible and when order cannot be restored, authorize
6 the presiding officer, by majority vote, to enforce such rules
7 and regulations to the extent necessary to restore order. Such
8 rules and regulations shall not be made to violate the intent of
9 this act.
10 SECTION 7. FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS ACT, MEETINGS OF THE <--
11 LEGISLATURE WHICH ARE COVERED ARE AS FOLLOWS: ALL MEETINGS OF
12 COMMITTEES WHERE BILLS ARE CONSIDERED, ALL HEARINGS WHERE
13 TESTIMONY IS TAKEN, ALL SESSIONS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
14 AND THE SENATE. NOT INCLUDED IN THE INTENT OF THIS ACT ARE PARTY
15 CAUCUSES.
16 Section 7 8. Any member of any agency who participates in a <--
17 meeting or hearing knowing that it is being held or conducted IN <--
18 SUCH A WAY TO INTENTIONALLY PREVENT AN INTERESTED PARTY FROM
19 ATTENDING OR with the intent and purpose of violating this act
20 is guilty of a summary offense and upon conviction thereof shall
21 be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars
22 ($100) plus costs of prosecution.
23 Section 8 9. The Commonwealth Court shall have original <--
24 jurisdiction of actions involving State agencies and the courts
25 of common pleas shall have original jurisdiction of actions
26 involving other agencies to render declaratory judgments or to
27 enforce this act, by injunction or other remedy deemed
28 appropriate by the court. The action may be brought by any
29 person in the judicial district where such person resides or has
30 his principal place of business, where the agency whose act is
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1 complained of is located or where the act complained of
2 occurred.
3 Section 9 10. All acts and parts of acts are repealed in so <--
4 far as they are inconsistent herewith, excepting those statutes
5 which specifically provide for the confidentiality of
6 information.
7 Section 10 11. This act shall take effect in sixty days. <--
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