PRINTER'S NO. 121
No. 120 Session of 1981
INTRODUCED BY MILLER, JANUARY 19, 1981
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 19, 1981
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of July 19, 1974 (P.L.486 No.175), entitled "An
2 act requiring public agencies to hold certain meetings and
3 hearings open to the public and providing penalties,"
4 authorizing tape recordings of public meetings by news media.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Sections 4 and 6, act of July 19, 1974 (P.L.486
8 No.175), referred to as the Public Agency Open Meeting Law, are
9 amended to read:
10 Section 4. (a) The minutes of a public meeting of an agency
11 shall be taken and promptly recorded and shall be a public
12 record under and subject to the act of June 21, 1957 (P.L.390,
13 No.212), entitled "An act requiring certain records of the
14 Commonwealth and its political subdivisions and of certain
15 authorities and other agencies performing essential governmental
16 functions, to be open for examination and inspection by citizens
17 of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; authorizing such citizens
18 under certain conditions to make extracts, copies, photographs
1 or photostats of such records; and providing for appeals to the
2 courts of common pleas."
3 (b) News media representatives may tape record any agency
4 meeting after announcing their intent to do so, so long as such
5 taping is not disruptive of the meeting.
6 Section 6. Nothing in this act shall prohibit the agency
7 from adopting by formal action such rules and regulations as
8 necessary for the conduct of its meetings. Additionally, the
9 members of the agency conducting the meeting may at the time of
10 any disturbance which would render the ordinary conduct of the
11 meeting unfeasible and when order cannot be restored, authorize
12 the presiding officer, by majority vote, to enforce such rules
13 and regulations to the extent necessary to restore order. Such
14 rules and regulations shall not be made to violate the intent of
15 this act. Rules and regulations governing use of tape recording
16 devices by news media shall not prohibit such use as disruptive
17 per se nor because of the personal objections of any of the
18 general public attending.
19 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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