Current through Register Vol. 54, No.43, October 26, 2024
Section 1.55 - Rules and regulations(a)Conduct of open meetings. An agency may adopt, by official action taken at a public meeting, rules and regulations or bylaws necessary for the conduct of its meetings and the maintenance of order. The regulations may include procedures for:(1) Public participation in meetings including the presentation of official testimony under § 1.52(b) (relating to minutes), as well as the presentation of unofficial comments by members of the public.(2) The manner in which topics may be placed upon an agency agenda for deliberations and official action.(3) Limiting debate and discussion of agency business.(4) Delegating responsibility to committees of the agency and to individual agency officials.(b)Public participation. Although agencies are encouraged to develop regulations or bylaws designed to maximize effective public participation in open meetings and to provide information to the public about agency proceedings, unless otherwise required by law, agencies are not required to recognize or take testimony from members of the public at open meetings or to share with members of the public copies of internal agency records distributed to agency members.(c)Regulatory deliberations. For the purpose of effectively conducting proceedings regarding the content of regulations under review under the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § § 745.1-745.15) or the Commonwealth Attorneys Act (71 P. S. § § 732-101-732-506), the agency may at an open meeting designate one or more official representatives to execute regulatory documents implementing general instructions provided by the agency and to meet with representatives of other agencies, the General Assembly, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission and the public to discuss and make changes to proposed regulations and enter into tentative agreements regarding changes to final rules. Agreements regarding changes to final regulations shall be subject to review and approval by the agency prior to final adoption of regulations, but the commitment of an agency representative may be offered for the purpose of obtaining approval of documents under the Regulatory Review Act. A meeting at which a quorum of the members of an agency meet to adopt a final regulation shall be open to the public. This section cited in 4 Pa. Code § 1.41 (relating to requirements); and 4 Pa. Code § 1.52 (relating to minutes).