Sunshine Meeting Notices

Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act requires agencies to provide advance notice of certain meetings that must be open to the public.  Contact your agency’s legal office with questions about whether a meeting is subject to the Sunshine Act.

• Sunshine Act Requirements - a brief description of the PA Sunshine Act
• Meetings in Harrisburg Area - submit information using online form
• Meetings Outside Harrisburg Area - submit information using Form STD 521
• Management Directive 250.1 - Advertisement of Public Meetings - commonwealth policy regarding the Sunshine Act
• Sunshine Act Title 65 (Open Meetings Law) - view a copy of the act

• Online Form
• Confirm Publication - for notices published on PennLive.com in past 30 days
• Form ​STD-005 - use to submit Harrisburg area meetings only if online form is unavailable
• Frequently Asked Questions - about the Sunshine Act 

The Office of Administration (OA) coordinates the publication of notices in the Patriot-News for state agency meetings in the Harrisburg area.  Please note that OA may reformat meeting information to limit the cost of the advertisement; however, the meeting name, date, and time will not be changed. 

1. Confirm publication days:  The Patriot News publishes three days a week, Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.
   Regular meetings require 72-hour notice to the public, and rescheduled/canceled/and special meetings require 24 hours’ notice to the public.  Please note, that even if you only have to provide the public 24 hours’ notice, we still must adhere to the limitations of a tri-weekly publication, the Patriot-News' deadlines, as well as our office’s deadline.  We ask that all meeting notices be submitted to our office no later than Tuesday at 9 AM for publication on Thursday.
2. Submit meeting information to OA: Please use the online form to submit your meeting information to OA. 
   If the site is not available, please download and submit Form STD-00​5, The Sunshine Act Meeting Notices by email or fax to 717-346-6771.
3. Confirm publication:  View meeting notices published in the Patriot-News, Harrisburg, in the past 30 days.
4. Contact OA: Report errors or omissions at 717.783.5055 or ra-sunshineactnotice@pa.gov. 

The agency hosting the meeting is responsible for making sure the meeting is publicly advertised and for paying the cost of the advertisement. 

1. Assemble meeting and invoice information: Complete Form STD-521, Publications Authorization and Invoice. Be sure to include, in capital letters, THE SUNSHINE ACT MEETING NOTICES in the space immediately above the title of the meeting notice to be published. 
2. Submit meeting information to newspaper: Submit the form to the local newspaper of general circulation in the area of the meeting.
3. Pay the newspaper: Forward the invoice and meeting notice to your agency's payment office.
4. Confirm publication: Confirm with the newspaper that the meeting notice was published and report any errors or omissions to it immediately.

The Patriot-News only publishes three days a week, Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.  OA tries to publish all notices on Thursday, as it is the least expensive day.

• Regular Meetings: Notification must be published at least three days in advance of the meeting date.
• Special, Rescheduled and Cancelled Meetings: Notification must be published at least one day in advance of the meeting date. 

Note: If you are unable to meet the submission deadline, please enter the meeting information into the system and follow the prompts to contact our office at 717.783.5055 to find out if it can be published. 

We do not need your agency coding.  Please note that OA may reformat meeting information to limit the cost of the advertisement; however, the meeting name, date, and time will not be changed. ​

​Additional Information