PRINTER'S NO. 1089
No. 981 Session of 1979
INTRODUCED BY BROWN, COWELL, KUKOVICH, ALDEN, CUNNINGHAM,
PERZEL, MILLER, FISCHER, ITKIN, SIEMINSKI AND KNEPPER,
APRIL 23, 1979
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, APRIL 23, 1979
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of July 19, 1974 (P.L.486, No.175), entitled
2 "An act requiring public agencies to hold certain meetings
3 and hearings open to the public and providing penalties,"
4 further providing for conference committee meetings to be
5 open to the public.
6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
7 hereby enacts as follows:
8 Section 1. Subsection (g) of section 5 and section 7, act of
9 July 19, 1974 (P.L.486, No.175), referred to as the Public
10 Agency Open Meeting Law, subsection (g) added and section 7
11 amended February 3, 1976 (P.L.24, No.11), are amended to read:
12 Section 5. * * *
13 (g) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the
14 contrary, in case of sessions of the General Assembly, all
15 meetings of conference committees, all meetings of legislative
16 committees to be held within the Capitol complex where bills are
17 considered, and all legislative hearings to be held within the
18 Capitol complex where testimony is taken, the requirement for
19 public notice thereof shall be complied with if within the time
1 limits prescribed by this section:
2 (1) the Supervisor of the Newsroom of the State Capitol
3 Building in Harrisburg is supplied for distribution to the
4 members of the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents
5 Association with a minimum of thirty copies of the notice of the
6 date, time and place of each session, meeting or hearing:
7 Provided, That where the prescribed notice has been supplied
8 containing the specific number of days of a week scheduled for
9 legislative sessions of the House or Senate, but the House or
10 Senate thereafter determines to be in a greater number of
11 session days than that originally scheduled for such week, the
12 public notice requirement for such additional session days shall
13 be deemed complied with, if the Speaker of the House or
14 presiding officer of the Senate, as the case may be, makes
15 public announcement during open meeting of a regularly scheduled
16 session of the date, time and place of the additional session
17 day or days and notice is posted as prescribed by this section;
18 and
19 (2) there is a posting of the copy of such notice at a
20 public place within the main Capitol building designated by the
21 Chief Clerk and the Secretary of the Senate.
22 Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, committees may
23 be called into session in accordance with the provisions of the
24 rules of the House or the Senate and an announcement by the
25 Speaker of the House or the presiding officer of the Senate:
26 Provided, That such announcement is made in open session of the
27 House or the Senate.
28 Section 7. For the purpose of this act, meetings of the
29 Legislature which are covered are as follows: all meetings of
30 conference committees, all meetings of committees where bills
19790H0981B1089 - 2 -
1 are considered, all hearings where testimony is taken, all
2 sessions of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Not
3 included in the intent of this act are party caucuses, nor any
4 meeting of any ethics committee created pursuant to the rules of
5 the House of Representatives or the Senate.
6 Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
L12L11HVY/19790H0981B1089 - 3 -