Pennsylvania General Assembly Amends Sunshine Act to Limit Last-Minute Amendments to Postponed Meeting Agendas

On October 22, 2026, Governor Josh Shapiro signed Senate Bill 1150 into law as Act 103 of 2026 (“Act 103”). Act 103 amends Section 712.1 of the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act (65 Pa.C.S. § 712.1) to remove the unfettered ability of agencies to amend  publicly posted meeting agendas. Effective Monday, December 21, 2026, agencies must meet a narrow set of circumstances in order to take official action on any matters that were not included on a meeting agenda that was publicly posted at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.

In 2021, the General Assembly amended the Sunshine Act to require agencies to post meeting agendas at least 24 hours before a meeting and to generally prohibit official action on matters not appearing on the posted agenda. The Sunshine Act established four exceptions to that restriction, including Section 712.1(e), which provided a process for allowing an agency to amend the posted agenda during the meeting by a majority vote. As was confirmed in the 2025 Pennsylvania Supreme Court case, Coleman v. Parkland School District, the majority-vote exception could be used to add any matter of items to the agenda, without requiring that they relate to emergency business or were brought to the agency’s attention less than 24 hours before the meeting.

The newly enacted Act 103 eliminates the inclusion of exception 712.1(e) from Section 712.1(a), effectively negating the holding in Coleman v. Parkland School District. This change removes agencies’ ability to rely solely upon a majority vote to add any new matter to an agenda and immediately take official action. Act 103 further rewrites subsection (e), establishing that an agency may only add an item during a meeting by a majority vote where the item is “a matter of agency business arising under subsection (b), (c) or (d).”

In effect, an agency can no longer vote to place any newitem on the agenda and take action on it at that meeting; an added agenda item must fit one of the three remaining categories:

(b) Emergency business: Business presenting a clear and present danger to life or property;

(c) De minimis matters: A matter that arose or was brought to the agency’s attention within the 24 hours before the meeting and does not involve spending funds or entering into a contract; or

(d) Matters raised by a resident or taxpayer: A matter raised by a resident or taxpayer at the meeting, which the agency may refer to staff or, if it is de minimis and non-contractual, act upon.

The revised subsection (e) maintains the procedures that must be followed when an agency is taking action that meets one of the above criteria. The public body must identify the applicable exception and approve the addition by majority vote; the reason for adding the item must be publicly announced before the vote is taken; the amended agenda must be posted on the agency’s publicly accessible website, if one exists, and at the agency’s principal office by the next business day; and the meeting minutes must document the substance of the amendment as required by Section 712.1(f). As before, the procedures in subsection (e) do not apply to a conference or working session under Section 707 or an executive session under Section 708 of the Sunshine Act.

Until December 21, 2026, the current Sunshine Act as the Supreme Court interpreted in Coleman still governs, and agencies retain the ability to amend an agenda by a majority vote with no requirements to meet any further matter-specific criteria. However, beginning December 21, agencies should plan their agendas and operate their meetings with the understanding that the amended Sunshine Act governs, with the associated restrictions on amendments to agendas.

A full copy of Act 103 of 2026 is available for review here: Act 103 of 2026.

Contact our Municipal and School Law Group for assistance understanding Act 103 of 2026 and preparing your agency for the changes taking effect December 21, 2026.