All government agencies in Texas, from school boards to county courts, will have to comply with stricter deadlines for sharing public meeting agendas and information with constituents.
House Bill 1522 passed during the Texas Legislature’s regular session in May and takes effect Sept. 1. The bill amends the Texas Open Meetings Act and requires government agencies to post meeting agendas — outlines of what officials can discuss and vote on— at least three business days before the meeting. It used to be 72 hours.
The bill, co-authored by state Rep. Marc LaHood (R-San Antonio), received overwhelming bipartisan support.
The Republican-dominated legislature made the change to give residents more time to prepare and to make their voices heard on issues important to them. Notably, the Legislature does not hold itself to this standard, starting meetings hours after they’re scheduled — leaving those who traveled to the Capitol to testify waiting around until the wee hours of the morning.
Advocates pushed for the change from providing notice 72 hours in advance to three business days because they argue it’s not transparent enough, especially when government entities post meeting agendas during the weekend or over public holidays.
Kelley Shannon, the executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, a nonprofit that promotes open government and the First Amendment, said the bill is a win for the state’s constituents.
“It’s just putting a little bit of common courtesy and thinking about the public into the mix,” Shannon said, adding that the new law may also hold “bad actor” government agencies, who don’t always follow the Open Meetings Act, more accountable.
HB 1522 also requires that government agencies publish a copy of its budget when adding budgetary discussions to a meeting agenda, a practice some but not all agencies have already implemented.
“The whole thing is attempting to make taxpayers more informed, giving them the information that they need to watch over their government,” Shannon said.
Some elected officials in San Antonio are already working to shift their publishing calendars to be in compliance with the new law.
Located on the South Side, Harlandale Independent School District, which traditionally holds board meetings the third Monday of every month, will move all of its board meetings to Wednesdays, including agenda-setting meetings and work sessions.
To follow this schedule, Harlandale ISD officials will post agendas and meeting dates on Thursdays. This way, the district can keep consistent communication with the community, said Superintendent Gerardo Soto.
Harlandale board members were concerned that the new law would result in less flexibility to add or remove agenda items in emergencies. School boards may have to table discussions or simply reschedule meetings in the case there’s an agenda item the board isn’t ready to discuss, district officials said.
It is unclear exactly how other government agencies in the area, including the City of San Antonio, Bexar County Commissioners Court and other school districts will update their publishing calendars to comply with the new law.
Government agencies can be held civilly and criminally liable under the Open Meetings Act depending on the offense.
Shannon, a longtime journalist and adjunct journalism instructor at the University of Texas at Austin, said the new law shouldn’t be hard for government agencies to comply with, since the spirit of the Open Meetings Act, codified in 1993, was always meant to give the public three days’ notice before a meeting took place.
“It pretty much just puts weekends or holidays off limits,” she said.
Reporter Andrea Drusch contributed to this story.
