Pennsylvania § 2102 - Monthly meetings, quorum and voting.

§ 2102. Monthly meetings, quorum and voting.

(a) Required meetings.--The board of commissioners shall meet at least once a month, at a time and place designated by ordinance.

(b) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the board of commissioners shall constitute a quorum. Except as provided in subsection (b.1)(1)(i), only members of the board of commissioners physically present at a meeting place within the township shall be counted in establishing a quorum.

(b.1) Telecommunication.--

(1) The board of commissioners may, under an established telecommunications policy and under paragraph (2), provide for the participation of members of the board in township meetings by means of telecommunication devices, including telephones or computer terminals, which permit, at a minimum, audio communication between locations, if the following apply:

(i) A majority of the members of the board is physically present at the advertised meeting place within the township and a quorum is established at the convening or reconvening of the meeting. If, after the convening or reconvening of a meeting, a member of the board has been disqualified from voting as a matter of law, and is still physically present, members of the board participating by telecommunication device in accordance with this section shall be counted to maintain a quorum.

(ii) The telecommunication device used permits the member or members of the board not physically present at the meeting to:

(A) speak to and hear the comments and votes, if any, of the members of the board who are physically present, as well as other members of the board who may not be physically present and are also using a telecommunication device to participate in the meeting; and

(B) speak to and hear the comments of the public who are physically present at the meeting.

(iii) The telecommunication device used permits the members of the board and the members of the public who are physically present at the meeting to speak to and hear the comments and the vote, if any, of the member or members of the board who are not physically present at the meeting.

(2) Any changes to the board of commissioners' established telecommunications policy shall become effective no sooner than 30 days following the vote to change the policy.

(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the protections and prohibitions contained in any law or regulation relating to the rights of the disabled.

(c) Disqualification limited.--A member of the board may not be disqualified from voting on an issue before the board solely because the member had previously expressed an opinion on the issue in either an official or unofficial capacity.