Pa. Cons. Stat. » 65 Pa. Cons. Stat. (PUBLIC OFFICERS) / Chapter 7

65 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 702

 Legislative findings and declaration.

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section PA-LEGpalegis.us JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

§ 702.  Legislative findings and declaration.

(a)  Findings.--The General Assembly finds that the right of the public to be present at all meetings of agencies and to witness the deliberation, policy formulation and decisionmaking of agencies is vital to the enhancement and proper functioning of the democratic process and that secrecy in public affairs undermines the faith of the public in government and the public's effectiveness in fulfilling its role in a democratic society.

(b)  Declarations.--The General Assembly hereby declares it to be the public policy of this Commonwealth to insure the right of its citizens to have notice of and the right to attend all meetings of agencies at which any agency business is discussed or acted upon as provided in this chapter.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 17 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 2001–2025 · leading case: Lee Publications, Inc. v. Dickinson School of Law
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Lee Publications, Inc. v. Dickinson School of Law (2004) pacommwct · cites it 4× “65 Pa.C.S. § 702; see also Press-Enterprise, Inc.”
Alekseev v. CITY COUNCIL OF PHILADELPHIA (2010) pa · cites it 6× “See 65 Pa.C.S. § 702 (delineating the public policy underlying the Sunshine Act).”
Mazur v. Trinity Area School District (2007) pacommwct · cites it 2× “65 Pa.C.S. § 702(a). This purpose is accomplished through Section 704, which states, with two exceptions not relevant here, that "[o]fficial action and deliberations by a quorum of the members of an agency shall take place at a meeting open to the public.”
Kennedy v. Upper Milford Township Zoning Hearing Board (2003) pa “” 65 Pa.C.S. § 702 (entitled Legislative findings and declaration).”
Trib Total Media, Inc. v. Highlands School District (2010) pacommwct “5 Section 702 of the Sunshine Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 702, declares that it is the public policy of this Commonwealth to insure the right of its citizens to have notice of and the right to attend all meetings of agencies at which any agency business is discussed or acted upon as…”
Society Hill Civic Ass'n v. Philadelphia Board of License & Inspection Review (2006) pacommwct “See Section 702 of the Sunshine Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 702. Section 704, 65 Pa.C.S.”
Smith v. Township of Richmond (2013) pa “In this regard, it bears noting that, although the Act is designed to enhance the proper functioning of the democratic process by curtailing secrecy in public affairs, see 65 Pa.”
Smith v. Hanover Zoning Hearing Board (2013) pacommwct “65 Pa.C.S. §§ 702, 704. One exception to the general rule requiring open meetings permits an agency to have a closed executive session, but only for specified reasons and only where the reason for the meeting is announced at the public meeting directly before or after the…”
J. Coleman v. Parkland S.D. (2023) pacommwct · cites it 2× “” 65 Pa.C.S. § 702(b). To that end, Section 709 of the Sunshine Act requires, in pertinent part: (a) Meetings.”
T. Prozan v. Millcreek Twp. S.D. (2024) pacommwct · cites it 2× “Prozan insists that the trial court’s dismissal of his amended complaint undermined the right of the general public to “witness” the decision of the School District to expend thousands of taxpayer dollars by filing an appeal.”
Coleman, J. v. Parkland School District, Aplt. (2025) pa · cites it 2× “PSRC Brief at 6 (quoting 65 Pa.C.S. § 702) (emphasis added). The PSRC highlights the comments made by Senator Stefano before the Senate State Government Committee.”
Kennedy v. UPPER MILFORD TP. ZHB (2003) pa “" 65 Pa.C.S. § 702 (entitled Legislative findings and declaration).”
Show all 17 citing cases →
— 65 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 702(a) — 6 cases
Lee Publications, Inc. v. Dickinson School of Law (2004) pacommwct “65 Pa.C.S. § 702; see also Press-Enterprise, Inc.”
Mazur v. Trinity Area School District (2007) pacommwct “65 Pa.C.S. § 702(a). This purpose is accomplished through Section 704, which states, with two exceptions not relevant here, that "[o]fficial action and deliberations by a quorum of the members of an agency shall take place at a meeting open to the public.”
T. Prozan v. Millcreek Twp. S.D. (2024) pacommwct “Prozan insists that the trial court’s dismissal of his amended complaint undermined the right of the general public to “witness” the decision of the School District to expend thousands of taxpayer dollars by filing an appeal.”
Coleman, J. v. Parkland School District, Aplt. (2025) pa “PSRC Brief at 6 (quoting 65 Pa.C.S. § 702) (emphasis added). The PSRC highlights the comments made by Senator Stefano before the Senate State Government Committee.”
S.-J. Neu v. Millcreek Twp. Bd. of Sch. Dirs. (2025) pacommwct
— 65 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 702(b) — 3 cases
Alekseev v. CITY COUNCIL OF PHILADELPHIA (2010) pa “See 65 Pa.C.S. § 702 (delineating the public policy underlying the Sunshine Act).”
J. Coleman v. Parkland S.D. (2023) pacommwct “” 65 Pa.C.S. § 702(b). To that end, Section 709 of the Sunshine Act requires, in pertinent part: (a) Meetings.”
Coleman, J. v. Parkland School District, Aplt. (2025) pa
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.