The adage goes something like: “If at first you don’t succeed …”

And a Lehigh County lawmaker is a prime example of exactly how it goes.

State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, (R-16), is continuing his fight for government transparency and accountability.

His latest venture, introduced with Sen. Pat Stefano of Fayette County, aims to close a loophole created by a state Supreme Court ruling in a suit he brought against the Parkland School District.

Before his election to state office, Coleman was a member of Parkland’s school board and as a private citizen sued the board, saying it violated the state’s Sunshine Act.

The board amended its agenda during a meeting in the fall of 2021 to vote on a massive teachers’ contract without 24 hours of advance public notice.

Coleman won the initial rounds, but the high court reversed the decision, ruling that the Sunshine Act allows a standalone exception for local boards to add items to their agenda via a simple majority vote.

In effect, the ruling allows municipal boards to add major decisions to any meeting – without giving the public a chance to research or challenge them.

Senate Bill 1150 aims to close the loophole the courts created after Coleman’s suit played out.

Essentially, Coleman’s trying to close that gap and restore the original spirit of our Sunshine Act which requires public business to be done in public, with fair warning, clear agendas and no ambushes.

The plan mandates more detailed agenda descriptions, limits last minute additions to dealing only with genuine emergencies, and tightens reasons governing bodies can hold executive sessions.

Even more, it outlines a clear path for citizens to challenge any violations and gives courts steadier ground to hold officials accountable.

Often in smaller communities where the same handful of people rotate through the same handful of seats, governing bodies sometimes develop habits for dealing with municipal issues. Often, those habits continue without public scrutiny.

Coleman’s latest endeavor doesn’t point any fingers, but it does attempt to remove the temptation.

It means that residents won’t need to rely on rumor or Facebook threads to know what their government is planning. If there’s a vote on a contract, a rezoning or a major purchase, it must be spelled out clearly and posted in advance. No more “miscellaneous business” can hide major decisions.

The bill, especially in smaller municipalities, offers residents who can’t always be at meetings a sense of structure. Slower, documented processes push officials toward being transparent and make it mandatory instead of a courtesy.

A clear agenda makes it more likely for residents to show up. When that happens, both tend to behave better.

In many places, too, the bill can help restore a sense of trust in strained relationships between officials and residents.

When people believe decisions are being made openly, they’re more willing to accept outcomes they don’t always like. Transparency doesn’t eliminate disagreements, but it keeps them honest.

When government slows down, it gives people time to read, react and respond.

If it needs to respond quickly, especially in a true emergency, the bill still allows swift action.

At the same time, it prevents a non-emergency “emergency” that might be created when elected officials want to avoid the public eye.

Does it create more paperwork? Maybe. Might it cost a bit more? Maybe.

But being transparent is the cost of doing business – especially public business.

And around here, where everyone’s connected and local decisions affect everyone else, government transparency is essential and not something that could be undermined by last-minute maneuvers.

Senate Bill 1150’s premise deserves to be supported because of its simplicity: public business needs to be done in public, and shouldn’t come as a surprise.

That thought alone should be enough for those who represent us to keep their heads high instead of somewhere else, like where the sun doesn’t shine.

ED SOCHA | tneditor@tnonline.com