PaFOICPennsylvania Freedom of Information Coalition

Pennsylvania Freedom of Information Coalition

PNA Legal: Committees subject to Sunshine Act too




From the PNA Legal Hotline


By Melissa Melewsky, Media Law Counsel
Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association

Q: A borough council created a budget committee consisting of private citizens and borough employees to offer advice and investigate potential funding streams. The borough council president said the committee meetings are not public because there is not a quorum of borough council involved. Can they do that?

A: No. Committees that render advice on matters of agency business are agencies themselves under the Sunshine Act and required to advertise and conduct public meetings whenever a quorum of the committee discusses agency business.

The Sunshine Act requires that anytime a quorum of an agency deliberates agency business or takes official action, it must do so at a public meeting. The act defines “agency” as “[T]he body, and all committees thereof authorized by the body to take official action or render advice on matters of agency business…of any political subdivision of the Commonwealth.”

The borough is an agency under the Sunshine Act, and the budget is clearly agency business. Likewise, the budget committee is an agency under the Act because it is a committee created by borough council and authorized to render advice on matters of agency business, namely, the borough budget.

The fact that a quorum of borough council is not present during the committee meetings is not relevant because the committee itself is an agency. As an agency subject to the Act, the committee is required to adhere to all requirements of the law, including the provisions requiring public meetings anytime a quorum of the committee deliberates agency business.

There are a few limited executive session exceptions to the general rule that allow private discussions of agency business, including personnel issues, litigation, collective bargaining and the acquisition of real estate. But these exceptions are required to be narrowly construed, so that the vast majority of agency business is discussed at public meetings.

In the event that an executive session exception does apply, the agency must publicly announce the reason for the session either prior to the session or at the next public meeting after the session takes place, and one word reasons for executive session like “personnel” are not sufficient.



Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association attorneys provide member news organizations with advice on government access issues.