Q: A borough facing budget shortfalls created a committee to offer advice and investigate potential funding streams. Our reporter asked when the first committee meeting will take place, but the borough council president said that committee meetings will not be public because a quorum of borough council is not involved and no votes are taken. Is that right?

A:  Committees created to take official action or render advice on matters of agency business are agencies themselves under the Sunshine Act, and they are required to hold public meetings whenever a quorum of the committee deliberates agency business, unless a valid exception applies.

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 as defined by the Sunshine Act and the budget is clearly agency business. Likewise, the budget committee is also an “agency” for purposes of the Sunshine Act because it is a committee created by council and authorized to render advice on matters of agency business, namely, the budget. The fact that a quorum of council is not present during the committee meetings is irrelevant, because the committee itself is an agency required to comply with the law. Likewise, the fact that the committee does not vote is also irrelevant as the law expressly reaches committees that “render advice” on agency business. 

There are limited executive session exceptions that allow private discussions of agency business, including personnel issues, litigation, collective bargaining, the acquisition of real estate, and for issues that risk safety and security, for example. But these exceptions are required to be narrowly construed so that most agency business is discussed at public meetings. If 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, and one-word or generic justifications for executive session like “personnel” are not sufficient.  The Sunshine Act has been interpreted to require that agencies “be specific, identifying a real, discrete matter that is best addressed in private.”  See The Reading Eagle Co. v. City Council of Reading, 627 A.2d 305 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1993). 

Committees that are authorized to render advice or take official action are agencies themselves under the Sunshine Act, and they are required to follow all aspects of the law including advertising and holding public meetings, producing an agenda, allowing public comment and recording of meetings, and keeping official meeting minutes, and all other requirements of the statute. The law expressly covers committees because it recognizes that committees often do most, if not all, of the work on a particular issue with little or no further deliberation by the larger board. Excluding the public from committee meetings would remove citizens’ ability to play a meaningful role in the decision-making process and the formation of public policy in direct conflict the letter and intent of the Sunshine Act. 

As always, this is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, legal advice.  Please consult your news organization’s attorney or the PNA Legal Hotline at (717) 703-3080 with questions.