Trending
We send out a round of applause today to our area lawmakers for supporting an amendment to the state Sunshine Act. This amendment, which was signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf on June 30, is intended to bring greater transparency to government meetings.
This legislation requires agencies to provide meeting agendas 24 hours in advance of public meetings, including posting them on their websites.
This is crucial, given the giant leap forward into a technology-driven society taken during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The vast majority of our local government agencies jumped into meeting remotely and relying on different tech platforms for public access. But did the public always have access to agendas?
As a community newspaper that historically has reported on public meetings, we can tell you that there have been times when agendas were not available in advance of meetings, and certainly not 24 hours in advance.
Government websites are another matter. Though there has been great improvement since the advent and popularity of the internet, there's much to be desired when seeking agendas from one website to the next.
This is particularly true in smaller communities with fewer resources to develop strong websites that are easily navigated.
Posting agendas in a manner that makes them easy for the general public to find should be a priority.
Having knowledge of the business to go before a political subdivision, whether it be the county commissioners, a local school board, or municipal or township body, allows for meaningful public participation in the government process.
As state Rep. Jeff Wheeland, R-Loyalsock Township, asked, how often do people attend their local governing body's meetings and not know in advance what that body will talk about?
"I think it's a good thing for the public to know what is going to be on the agenda rather than miss something that is important to them," Wheeland told the Sun-Gazette.
We agree. And we commend both houses of the Legislature for passing and Gov. Wolf for signing this important -- and overdue -- amendment.
Now it's up to the spectrum of governing bodies in our local communities to serve the public with not only advance agendas but agendas that clearly define the business at hand and to make these agendas easy to find.
This will give the public an improved chance of being heard prior to the approval of government business that will have an impact where they live.