January 21, 2026

Jennifer L. Bauer

Under Section 712.1 of the Sunshine Act, Public Agencies May Address Business Not on Previously Published Agendas in Four Distinct Circumstances

By: Jennifer L. Bauer, Attorney, McQuaide Blasko, Inc.

Following a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling, public agencies may address business not on previously published meeting agendas in four distinct circumstances, including upon majority vote of the members present at the meeting. In Coleman v. Parkland School District,[1] the Court held that Section 712.1 of Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act, 65 Pa. C.S. § 701 et seq. (the “Sunshine Act”), provides four separate, limited exceptions to the 24-hour public notice requirement for agency business, reversing a somewhat confusing Commonwealth Court ruling from the prior year and clarifying the contours of the four exceptions.

Under the Sunshine Act, an agency must publicly post a meeting agenda at least 24 hours prior to any public meeting and, generally, may only address business that was included in that agenda.[2] However, Section 712.1 provides several exceptions for when the agency may address business that was not included on the prior-noticed agenda. In Coleman, the Court interpreted Section 712.1 to hold that public agencies may take action at public meetings on certain matters not included in the prior-noticed agenda only if such business falls into one of four distinct exceptions: (1) the Majority Vote Exception, (2) the Emergency Business Exception, (3) the “De Minimis” Business Exception, and (4) the “Business Arising During the Meeting” Exception.

At particular issue in the Coleman case was the language of Section 712.1(e), the Majority Vote Exception. Coleman expressly provides that Section 712.1(e) permits the agency to add business of any nature and arising at any time to an agenda upon majority vote of members present during a meeting and to take action on such appropriately added business, provided that the agency takes certain additional steps. Specifically, the agency must do the following:

• “[C]onduct a wholly separate vote from that which decides the new business” to consider the business at the meeting and announce the “reasons for the changes to the agenda” at the meeting before such vote is conducted;
• “[P]ost the amended agenda ‘on the agency’s publicly accessible Internet website, if available, and at the agency’s principal office location no later than the first business day following the meeting at which the agenda was changed’”; and
• Ensure that the “minutes of the meeting [] reflect the substance of the matter added, the vote on the addition and the announced reasons for the addition . . . .”[3]

 

Thus, under Section 712.1(e), read together with Section 712.1(f), the agency must “retroactively amend the pre-meeting agenda, notify the public of the substance of the new matter, note the reason(s) why it was added to the agenda retroactively, and publish the votes of the agency members who decided to invoke [Section 712.2(e)].”[4]

Additionally, the Court clarified the other three exceptions under Section 712.1:

• The Emergency Business Exception: Section 712.1(b) permits the agency to take action on matters not included in the publicized agenda when there is emergency business involving a clear and present danger to life or property. The agency may have known about the situation prior to the notice deadline, but “the existence of a clear and present danger supersedes the general prohibition set forth in subsection 712.1(a) that enforces” the notice requirement.[5] The agency is not required to amend the agenda or vote to consider the emergency at the meeting, as is required under Section 712.1(e).
• The “De Minimis” Business Exception: Section 712.1(c) permits the agency to take action on matters not included in the publicized agenda when all of the following criteria are met: (i) the matter arises within 24 hours before the meeting, (ii) the matter is “de minimis” in nature, (iii) the matter does not involve expending funds or entering into a contract or agreement, and (iv) the agency was not aware of the de minimis business before the meeting agenda had to be posted. As above, the agency is not required to take a prior vote to consider the business (only to take action) and does not have to retroactively amend the agenda to include the business.
• The “Business Arising During the Meeting” Exception: Section 712.1(d) permits the agency to consider business that was “not listed on the meeting agenda” that arises “during the conduct of a meeting” and was raised by “a resident or taxpayer.”[6] If the business is, as in Section 712.1(c), “de minimis” and does not involve expending funds or entering into a contract or agreement, the agency is permitted to take official action on the business at the meeting. If the business does not meet those de minimis requirements, the agency is only permitted to take limited action, such as referring the matter to agency staff. Again, the agency is not required to take a prior vote or retroactively amend the agenda.

Following Coleman, agencies are still required to provide adequate notice of public meetings and post meeting agendas at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. However, an agency may address business not on such agenda, provided the business clearly meets the criteria of one of the four limited exceptions under Sections 712.1(b) through (e) and complies with Section 712.1(f), if necessary. This is a win for public agencies, ensuring that they can appropriately respond to public needs in an efficient manner, while maintaining the spirit of openness and public participation.

[1] 33 MAP 2024, 2025 Pa. LEXIS 1853 (Pa. 2025).

[2] See 65 Pa. C.S. §§ 709 and 712.1(a).

[3] Coleman, 33 MAP 2024, at *31‒32.

[4] Id. at *33.

[5] Id. at *28.

[6] Id. at *29‒30 (citing 65 Pa. C.S. § 712.1(d)).