House passes bill to tighten 24-hour public‑notice rule after court ruling

The Pennsylvania House on July 1 passed House Bill 2146, legislation amending the Sunshine Act to limit the circumstances in which municipalities and agencies may add items to a public‑meeting agenda without 24 hours’ notice.

Representative Freeman, majority chair of the House Local Government Committee, said the bill was prompted by a Pennsylvania Supreme Court interpretation that allowed municipalities to use a majority‑vote procedure to add virtually any item at a meeting without advance public notice. "This bill would restore the 24‑hour notice rule in light of the recent Supreme Court decision," Freeman said, arguing the change would prevent "significant items" from being slipped onto agendas without public awareness.

Proponents framed the measure as a transparency fix. "A vote for House Bill 21 46 is a vote to ensure that the public knows what agenda items are being considered," Freeman told colleagues. Representative Miller, a co‑prime sponsor, read the legislative findings of the Sunshine Act and said the law is intended to protect citizens’ right to know and attend public deliberations.

Supporters said the bill preserves narrow exceptions — emergencies, de minimis matters and limited items brought up by the public — and adds a clearer standard and solicitor review for time‑sensitive items, small purchasing and certain personnel actions. Representative Freeman said the bill includes narrow administrative exemptions where delay would cause hardship and requires a solicitor’s opinion when invoked.

Members who spoke in support cited local examples. Representative Kinkade said a borough in her district recently moved to dissolve a volunteer fire company without notice, leaving residents and emergency planning in the dark; she said HB 2146 would prevent similar surprises.

The measure drew floor attention to where transparency should apply. Representative Grupa urged that the House itself should follow the same standards, saying, "We're here to serve, not to rule," and urged the chamber to amend its own rules accordingly.

After debate, the House recorded final passage: yeas 193, nays 9. The clerk will present the bill to the Senate for concurrence.

The bill’s text as described on the floor clarifies that the majority‑vote mechanism in the Sunshine Act should only be used to enact existing, narrow exceptions and not as a catch‑all to circumvent advance notice requirements. The bill also adds process safeguards — for example, solicitor findings and justification when a body invokes time‑sensitive litigation or personnel exceptions.

Next steps: HB 21 46 now proceeds to the Senate. The House debate on the measure and the recorded final‑passage tally conclude the session’s immediate action on this reform.