From the Legal Hotline

By Teri Henning, General Counsel; Melissa Melewsky, Media Law Counsel
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association

Q: Our local state legislator holds a monthly meeting on issues affecting our area. The public and press are not permitted at these meetings but one member from each local agency is invited. Doesn’t this violate the Sunshine Act?

A: No. The Sunshine Act does not apply to this type of meeting because there is no quorum of an agency present.

The Sunshine Act states that anytime a quorum of an agency takes official action or deliberates agency business, it must do so at an open meeting unless an exception applies. A quorum is the number of agency members required to take official action for example, a simple majority of 2 of 3 county commissioners or 5 of 9 school board members. If a quorum is not present, the Sunshine Act does not apply.

However, simply because the meetings are not required to be public doesn’t mean they can’t be. There is no law that prohibits the legislator from opening these monthly meetings to the public, and public input can be an invaluable tool for lawmakers seeking to address the issues affecting their constituents.

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