Today, in Coleman v. Parkland School District, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted a major victory for local government efficiency when it ruled that Section 712.1 of the Sunshine Act unambiguously creates four freestanding exceptions to the general prohibition that an agency cannot take official action on items not listed on the pre-meeting agenda pursuant to the 24-hour notice rule. The Supreme Court held that “the Commonwealth Court essentially redrafted Section 712.1 to align it with a textually unsustainable view of the ostensible spirit of the Sunshine Act and its 2021 amendment.”

What’s this mean for PSATS’ members?

This is a big win for townships and permits them, if they wish, to vote to add matters to the official meeting agenda and then take action on those newly-added agenda items at that public meeting. This will allow for greater efficiency in township operations and save money and time on unnecessary additional advertisements and meetings. Note that townships need to comply with the requirements of Section 712.1 if and when voting to add items to the meeting agenda. This ruling also applies to other township boards and commissions that are subject to the Sunshine Act.

PSATS was instrumental in drafting and advocating for the 2021 amendments to the Sunshine Act and it, along with other statewide municipal organizations, filed a brief in support of the school district before the Supreme Court.