Unlike businesses that must compete to survive in the market place for sales revenue, county government receives the bulk of its operating revenue from real estate taxes.  However, the public pays directly for some services in the form of user taxes--review of farm nutrient management plans (plans to dispose of animal manure in an environmentally safe manner), for example.  Funds also come from the county courts, which also collect fines and impose penalties on guilty persons for everything from drinking and driving to failure to pay child support.  Further, many counties have started charging inmates for room and board while housed in their prisons.  Together with taxes, these funds and more comprise a county’s operating budget.

**8/04  What is your opinion on potential rapes at the County prison?  First, neither man or woman, in prison or out of prison, deserves to be raped.  Since this is both a sensitive and volatile topic, rather than shooting from the hip at last Thursday's meeting, I did some research on rape policy at the prison.  While Warden Raiger was out, I did talk to medical staff.  A summary follows:

Often times, inmates are afraid to speak to officers, probably because other inmates may see them in conversation. However, nurses seem to be the 'safe haven' for inmates to talk.  If sexual assault is reported, an inmate is taken immediately to the hospital for DNA, sexually transmitted disease, and other tests.  There are also times that rumors prompt nurses to call inmates in to talk.  If an inmate confides that an assault took place, the inmate is sent to the hospital for examination, and the State Police are called in to do an investigation.  Two times in the last several years, accused assaulters were separated and put in restrictive housing, then tried and when found guilty, sent to State prison for five to ten years.  When I learned that one of the two inmates was in prison for child molestation, I was convinced that this policy is enforced across the board without discrimination.  For your information, in the last several years, no women have reported rapes.

**8/04  I am married to a man who has been since I've known him (almost two years) in a cycle with the child support system, they have laws in place to help the plaintiff but not the defendant who has no legal representation at all.  He is paying but not enough to cover the order that was put in place when he was working at a different job.  He is not allowed to put in for a modification for whatever reasons and he needs legal help.  We don't qualify for low or no cost because of my income, why, I am not responsible for his child support.  I already handle all of the household bills due to his obligation for child support what more can I do.  There has to be someone or some agency out there that can help but no one seems to want to get involved.  Can you tell me why not, at least I will know what I am up against.  DW.   First, I am not an attorney, and my comments can not be considered legal advice.  Also, please don't take them personal.  I am not taking sides.  I am simply relaying my observations that may help you to "understand" not necessarily agree with how the court system works.  That being said, as I understand it, the courts have a firm belief that a parent must pay child support to the custodial parent who must get up with the child in the middle of the night to care for him when he's sick; they must help them with homework, make sure he takes a bath, combs his hair, and brushes his teeth;  see that he gets to school; takes him to the doctor....  The list goes on.  A judge would probably ask you if you knew about the child support when you got married.  Then he might ask if it is right that someone produces a child, then doesn't help to care for him, at least through child support.  Knowing this "school of thought", attorneys may know that pursuit of an appeal might be another financial burden that you can't afford, and that may be why most attorneys don't want to take your money/case.  While you don't mention how old the child is, support normally ends at age 18.  Please don't shoot the messenger.

**My relative has served his six months, and he has not been released on parole from prison.  Why?  First, because of overcrowding and the fact that we have the expense of feeding, clothing, and providing shelter for a prisoner, the commissioners do not want to keep anyone in prison longer than we have to.  My guess is that your relative was sentenced to something like six months to two years.  That means he is eligible for parole at the end of six months, but there is no guarantee that he will be released in six months.  Six months is simply the first time that he is eligible for parole.  I am aware of two things that could extend his stay:  1) a misconduct for violating prison policy, which may have an automatic three month extension (did he get into a fight or throw things at people?), 2) lack of an approved home plan.  The chief of probation explained to me that prisoners got into prison through making bad choices.  To help them keep on the right path when leaving prison, probation officers help prisoners make good choices with an approved home plan.  For example, a prisoner would not be released back into a setting where drugs were available or where violence occurred.

**7/04  I don't get this whole thing about the Sunshine Law.  Can you explain it to me?   I consider Doug Hill, the president of the County Commissioner's Association of Pennsylvania, to be the expert.  Here's what he says:

This is to confirm the information we discussed concerning the circumstances in which commissioner meetings are determined to be open meetings under the Sunshine Law.

The Act (65 Pa.C.S.A. 701 ff.) sets a general standard that all meetings of covered agencies at which agency business is transacted are open to the public, unless closed for some reason specifically stated in the law. 

Your question is a basic one concerning the general standard for open meetings.  While the law creates a standard that all meetings are open, it does not create a presumption that every time commissioners gather it constitutes a meeting.  Rather, the law creates a three part test by defining a meeting as “any prearranged gathering of an agency which is attended or participated in by a quorum of the members of an agency held for the purpose of deliberating agency business or taking official action.” 

Taking these tests in turn, the first is prearrangement.  Typically this includes the normal advertised regular or special meetings, but can include other meetings for which the members of the agency received advance notice.  It does not include chance encounters, nor does it include other nominally “scheduled” public events such as church services, theater events, and so on.  Naturally there is a presumption the agency will not use the opportunity of a chance encounter to conduct agency business, however.

Second is participation by a quorum.  This test is commonly met for most county and township boards, which consist of three members and thus have a quorum any time two are present.  Because a quorum is so easily established, our analysis of the statute rarely focuses on this test.

Finally, the meeting must be for the purpose of conducting deliberations or official action on agency business.  In this respect, the definitions of either “deliberations” or “official action” must be met.  Deliberations are “the discussion of agency business held for the purpose of making a decision,” and official action includes (1) recommendations made by an agency pursuant to statute, ordinance or executive order; (2) the establishment of policy by an agency; (3) the decisions on agency business made by an agency; or (4) the vote taken by any agency on any motion, proposal, resolution, rule, regulation, ordinance, report or order.

All three tests, each of which is clearly delineated, must be met before the meeting is considered to be open under the provisions of the act, and failure to meet any one of them places the meeting outside the statute.  For example, the common practice of new or newly-reconstituted boards of commissioners meeting with agencies under county purview or related to the county to receive information on agency functions and projects does not satisfy the definition of meeting, since the simple gathering of information meets neither the standard of deliberation nor any of the four standards of official action.

Even if all the tests are met, it should be noted that the law at section 707 provides three clear exceptions to the meeting standard, including executive sessions, conferences, and certain meetings of auditors.  The conference exception includes “any training program or seminar, or any session arranged by State or Federal agencies for local agencies, organized and conducted for the sole purpose of providing information to agency members on matters directly related to their official responsibilities.”

Last, it is important to note that the act also recognizes the unique nature of county government, in which the governing body has both legislative and administrative functions.  The issue is dealt with in the Act’s definitions of “administrative action”, “agency business”, and “official action”:

§ 703. Definitions

            The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

            "Administrative action."   The execution of policies relating to persons or things as previously authorized or required by official action of the agency adopted at an open meeting of the agency.  The term does not, however, include the deliberation of agency business. (Emphasis added)

 * * *

             "Agency business."   The framing, preparation, making or enactment of laws, policy or regulations, the creation of liability by contract or otherwise or the adjudication of rights, duties and responsibilities, but not including administrative action.  (Emphasis added)

 * * *

             "Official action."

(1) Recommendations made by an agency pursuant to statute, ordinance or executive order.

(2) The establishment of policy by an agency.

(3) The decisions on agency business made by an agency.

(4) The vote taken by any agency on any motion, proposal, resolution, rule, regulation, ordinance, report or order.

 The Act requires that all official action, and deliberations leading to official action, must be held in an open meeting.  Official action includes “agency business”, but the definition of agency business specifically excludes “administrative action”, so the conclusion is that administrative action is not official action, and hence not subject to the statute’s open meetings requirement.

This is in fact an issue we lobbied when the bill was under consideration in the Legislature.  Given the dual roles of county commissioners (and the fact that any time two commissioners are together there is a quorum), we felt it important to distinguish between their legislative and their executive/administrative roles.  The legislature agreed, and addressed the issue as described above.

Note that there are no cases we know of that give more guidance as to what constitutes “administrative action”, but there are a number of cases that show the other end of the spectrum regarding what constitutes “official action”.  Your solicitor can begin by reviewing the cases cited following 65 Pa.C.S.A. 703 in Purdon’s.

I hope you find this information useful.  You can find more information in the DCED publication on open meetings, found by going to the Departmental website at www.inventpa.com, clicking on “Communities in PA”, then on “Center for Local Government Services” and finally on “Publications.” Note that this letter reflects our experience with the statute and its genesis, but should not be construed as legal opinion.