Legal Hotline

Q: Can bingo and small games of chance ads include specific prizes and dollar amounts of prizes? A: Pennsylvania’s Bingo Law allows prizes and dollar value of prizes to be awarded in each game and in a single day to appear in ads, but the Small Games of Chance Act does not permit prizes or dollar values…

Q: A local borough council member told me they won’t be holding an organizational meeting in January, and they are the only borough in my area not holding one.  Aren’t boroughs required to hold an organizational meeting every year, and are these organizational meetings public? A:  Boroughs are required to hold an organizational meeting in even-numbered…

Q: Does the Sunshine Act require agencies to provide a general meeting notice at the beginning of the year, and if so, what are the requirements? A: Yes. The Sunshine Act requires agencies to provide public notice of its regular meeting schedule. Section 709 of the Act requires agencies to “give public notice of its first regular…

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 for a copy at the meeting and later at the borough’s main office, officials refused and said I can review a copy of the proposed…

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 access to ballots, returns, voter information and polling places. Journalists with questions or concerns can contact the PNA Legal Hotline at (717) 703-3080 or melissam@pa-news.org.…

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, on their websites or in digital news products, and the provision of the Pennsylvania Election Code dealing with last-minute political ads was declared unconstitutional and…

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, and should we file an RTKL request with the court? A: The criminal complaint is a public record and should be available from the court,…

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 and other emergency response records are exempt under the Right-to-Know Law. Is that right? A: No, the RTKL expressly requires public access to emergency dispatch…

Q: I submitted an RTKL request to a local agency’s RTKL officer on Monday morning via email, but didn’t get a response until Friday, when she “acknowledged receipt” of my request via reply email.  The reply also said the RTKL time calculation begins on Friday rather than the day I emailed my request. Is that…