The Pennsylvania Sunshine Act requires agencies to deliberate and take official action on agency business in an open and public meeting. It requires that meetings have prior notice,
The law defines a meeting as "any prearranged gathering of an agency which is attended or participated in by a quorum of the members of an agency held for the purpose of deliberating agency business or taking official action."
The Act applies any time a quorum deliberates agency business or takes official action, no matter the physical location of those deliberations or actions.
It gives the public the right to comment on issues "that are or may be before the board." Agencies must provide a reasonable opportunity for residents and/or taxpayers to comment on an issue before a decision takes place. Agencies are permitted to establish rules to oversee public comment by, for example, limiting the time for each commenter.
Although members of the agency are not required to provide an answer, it is certainly a good practice to do so whenever possible. The Sunshine Act allows meetings to be recorded with an audio recorder or a video recorder.
Agencies are required to record the time, date, and place of their meetings; the names of the members present, the substance of all official action taken during the meetings, and a record of how each individual voted. The minutes also must list all members of the public who participated in the meetings and a summary of their comments.
An agency may discuss certain matters in Executive Session, which is not held in public. There are seven reasons an agency may hold an Executive Session: Discussing personnel matters; Holding an information, strategy and negotiation session related to the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement; Considering the purchase or lease of real property; Consulting with an attorney about active or pending litigation; Discussing agency business which, if conducted in public, would violate a lawful privilege or lead to the disclosure of information or confidentiality protected by law; Discussing certain academic matters (this reason is specifically limited to certain institutions of higher education); and Discussing certain public safety issues if disclosure of the information discussed would be reasonably likely to jeopardize or threaten public safety or preparedness or public protection.
The specific reason for an Executive Session must be announced in the public meeting either before or directly after the Executive Session. The reasons stated by the public agency must be specific, indicating a real, discrete matter. No official action can be taken during Executive Session or a closed gathering.
The Sunshine Act permits anyone attending a public meeting to object to a perceived violation at any time during the meeting. For local agencies, a member of the public can file a complaint with the local Court of Common Pleas. Any complaint must be filed within 30 days of the public meeting in which the alleged infraction occurred. If the alleged infraction occurred during a closed meeting, the complaint must be filed within 30 days of the discovery of the infraction, as long as it is no longer than one year from when the meeting was held.
In addition to being assessed attorneys' fees, any member of an agency who is found to have willfully violated the act can face criminal charges and subject to fines of $100 to $1,000 for the first offense, and $500 to $2,000 for the second offense.
Excerpts from the PA Office of Open Records