Legal Hotline

Q: A borough in our coverage area discussed and approved a proposed budget at its last public meeting. They also published public notice of the proposed budget’s approval. When I asked […]

Q: A local agency is prohibiting the right to object during public meetings, requiring all objections to occur during public comment. Is that OK? A. No. This is not consistent […]

Access to Polling Places, Computation and Records Election practices vary by county, but all counties must adhere to Title 25 of the Pennsylvania Statutes, the Pennsylvania Election Code, which governs […]

Q: Is there a rule in Pennsylvania or federal law that restricts last-minute political ads? A: There is no federal law or regulation that prohibits last-minute political ads in newspapers, […]

Q: We want to review a criminal complaint filed with the county court of common pleas as part of a murder prosecution.  Is this record public under the Right-to-Know Law, […]

Q: What are some of the issues we need to consider when reviewing political advertising? A: Financing, required disclosures, timing, rates and defamation issues arise in the context of  political […]

Q: Many local agencies routinely take a 30-calendar-day extension to respond to Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) requests, usually citing the need for legal review or due to staffing limitations, even for […]

Q: I’d like to review emergency time response logs from our county dispatch center related to fire, police and EMS. When I asked for access, the dispatch chief said 911 […]

Q: Are settlement agreements involving public agencies considered public records?  Can an agency rely upon a confidentiality clause in a settlement agreement to deny access?  A:  Settlement agreements between public […]