PA House Committee Approves Bill Limiting Sunshine Act Exceptions

Legislation aims to close loophole in state transparency law after court ruling

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

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A Pennsylvania House committee has approved a bill that would limit the exceptions to the state's Sunshine Act, which requires public notice for government meetings. The move comes after a state Supreme Court ruling last year that allowed public agencies to take action on items not included in a meeting agenda. The proposed legislation would narrow the types of matters an agency could consider without prior public notice.

Why it matters

The Sunshine Act is a key law ensuring transparency in Pennsylvania government. The Supreme Court decision was seen as weakening the law's public notice requirements, raising concerns from transparency advocates. This new legislation aims to restore those notice protections while still allowing agencies to address urgent or minor matters efficiently.

The details

The bill, approved by the state House Local Government Committee, would allow public agencies to avoid the Sunshine Act's notice requirement only for matters concerning a real or potential danger to life or property, or trivial items not involving expenditures or contracts brought to the agency's attention less than 24 hours before a meeting. An agency could add such matters to a meeting agenda by announcing the reason and voting by majority. The committee also approved an amendment creating additional exceptions for minor administrative matters like personnel actions, auction purchases under $13,200, and grant applications.

  • In November 2025, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a 4-3 ruling clarifying a 2021 amendment to the Sunshine Act.
  • On February 12, 2026, the state House Local Government Committee approved House Bill 2146 to amend the Sunshine Act.

The players

Sen. Jarrett Coleman

A Republican state senator from Lehigh County whose challenge of a Parkland School District vote led to the Supreme Court ruling.

Rep. Brett Miller

The ranking Republican on the House Local Government Committee, who co-sponsored the bill to amend the Sunshine Act.

Rep. Robert Freeman

The Democratic chairman of the House Local Government Committee, who co-sponsored the bill and offered an amendment to create additional exceptions.

Rep. Abigail Salisbury

A Democratic state representative from Allegheny County and member of the Swissvale borough council, who spoke about the importance of transparency under the Sunshine Act.

Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors

An organization that declared the Supreme Court decision a victory for local government efficiency.

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What they’re saying

“This amendment does rightfully, I believe, take the wide open gap that we have before us with the Supreme Court decision and narrows it down to legitimate areas of expediency that need to be acted upon.”

— Rep. Brett Miller, Ranking Republican, House Local Government Committee (northpennnow.com)

“This is not authorizing taking actions on any of these items outside of a meeting, in between meetings, absent a meeting, behind closed doors, via email, via phone, any of these other types of things. Sometimes people try to take informal paths, but we want to make sure that there's full transparency for the public.”

— Rep. Abigail Salisbury, Democratic state representative, Swissvale borough council member (northpennnow.com)

What’s next

The bill now heads to the full Pennsylvania House of Representatives for consideration.

The takeaway

This legislation aims to restore key public notice requirements of the Sunshine Act after a court ruling weakened them, underscoring the importance of government transparency in Pennsylvania.