Lawmakers send Shapiro bill to close meeting notice loophole in Pennsylvania transparency law

Pennsylvania lawmakers on Wednesday sent a bill to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk that closes a loophole in a key government transparency law.

The law, known as Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act, requires local and state government bodies, including school boards and municipal councils, to publicize their voting agendas 24 hours in advance of public meetings. The idea is that the more people know about what their government is voting on, the better positioned they are to have a voice in the decision-making process.

But a state Supreme Court decision late last year expanded the limited list of exceptions governments can use to circumvent the 24-hour notice requirement and tack on last-minute items to their meeting agendas.

Good-government advocates almost immediately warned the ruling could lead to government bodies sneaking in votes on potentially thorny or unpopular issues.

The bill, authored by state Sens. Patrick Stefano (R., Fayette) and Jarrett Coleman (R., Lehigh) and headed to Shapiro for his signature, both clarifies and claws back exceptions to the 24-hour rule.

It unanimously passed the state Senate in June and cleared the House 182-21 on Wednesday, which will likely be the last formal voting day of the two-year session. A spokesperson for the governor said he intends to sign it.

The Sunshine Act, as it is currently written, allows exceptions to the 24-hour notice requirement for emergency matters; last-minute but “de minimus” issues; and matters a resident or taxpayer raises during a public meeting that require an on-the-spot vote or a referral to staff.

There is an apparent fourth exception referenced in the law that caused the disagreement that led to the high court’s decision: A government board can add a last-minute item to the agenda for discussion by a simple majority vote.

A school board in Lehigh County used that language in 2021 to add a last-minute item to its voting agenda and ratify a teachers’ union contract.

At the time, Coleman sued, arguing the clause was not intended to be a standalone exception, and instead must be viewed as coming into play if one of the other exceptions applies. The state Supreme Court disagreed.

The Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, which supported closing the loophole, said it’s aware of one instance involving controversy over the 24-hour rule since the decision. (Spotlight PA is a member of the association.)

In December, the Greater Latrobe School Board in suburban Pittsburgh voted to hire a new solicitor. The item to hire a new solicitor was publicized in a meeting agenda 24 hours in advance, but certain key details were not included in the description.

Stefano and Coleman’s bill clarifies that the majority-vote clause is a procedural tactic, rather than a standalone exception.

A similar bill was introduced by state Rep. Robert Freeman (D., Northampton). In addition to closing the loophole, it would have added a new exception allowing for votes on minor and specific administrative matters (such as some permit approvals and low-cost municipal repairs) if delaying a vote would create undue hardship.

In an interview this week, Freeman said he made his bill more expansive because groups representing townships and counties raised concerns that local jurisdictions would be hampered when carrying out legitimate business.

He said he wanted to give those groups more flexibility while upholding the spirit of the Sunshine Act and its goal of increasing voter participation in government.

Freeman said he believes his proposal was the better of the two, but he supports closing what could have been a dangerous loophole — particularly as municipalities around the state are considering difficult issues, such as whether to allow data centers to operate within their borders.

“This,” he said of the legislative effort to clarify the law, “is designed to build accountability.”

In a statement Wednesday, Coleman echoed the sentiment.

“Transparency only works when the public can see what’s coming,” he said, adding: “Today’s … vote sends a clear message that Pennsylvanians deserve notice before their local governments act on consequential matters, not after.”

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This story was originally published by Spotlight PA and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.