PRINTER'S NO. 984
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
794
Session of
2021
INTRODUCED BY COMITTA, HUGHES, FONTANA, SCHWANK, COSTA AND
TARTAGLIONE, JULY 7, 2021
REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT, JULY 7, 2021
AN ACT
Amending Title 8 (Boroughs and Incorporated Towns) of the
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in powers and duties of
elected officials, further providing for organization of
council, quorum, participation by telecommunication device,
voting, compensation and eligibility.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 1001(b) and (c) of Title 8 of the
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended to read:
ยง 1001. Organization of council, quorum, participation by
telecommunication device, voting, compensation and
eligibility.
* * *
(b) Quorum.--A majority of the membership of council then in
office shall constitute a quorum. [Except as provided in
subsection (c), only council members physically present at a
meeting place within the borough shall be counted in
establishing a quorum.]
(c) Telecommunication.--Council may provide for the
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participation of council members and the public in council
meetings by means of telecommunication devices, such as
telephones or computer terminals, which permit, at a minimum,
audio communication between locations.[, if the following apply:
(1) A majority of the membership of council then in
office is physically present at the advertised meeting place
within the borough and a quorum is established at the
convening or reconvening of the meeting. If, after the
convening or reconvening of a meeting, a member has been
disqualified from voting as a matter of law, but is still
physically present, council members participating by
telecommunication device in accordance with this section
shall be counted to maintain a quorum.
(2) The telecommunication device used permits the member
or members of council not physically present at the meeting
to:
(i) speak to and hear the comments and votes, if
any, of the members of council who are physically
present, as well as other members of council who may not
be physically present and are also using a
telecommunication device to participate in the meeting;
and
(ii) speak to and hear the comments of the public
who are physically present at the meeting.
(3) The telecommunication device used permits the
members of council and the members of the public who are
physically present at the meeting to speak to and hear the
comments and the vote, if any, of the member or members of
council who are not physically present at the meeting.
(4) Physical absence of a council member. Council may
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only authorize participation by telecommunication device for
one or more of the following reasons:
(i) illness or disability of the member of council;
(ii) care for the ill or newborn in the member's
immediate family;
(iii) emergency; and
(iv) family or business travel.
(5) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
limit the protections and prohibitions contained in any law
or regulation relating to the rights of the disabled.]
* * *
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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