By Chris Moore

chris.moore@panews.com

 

The Texas Court of Appeals this week struck down a provision of the Open Meeting Act that prohibited elected officials from speaking privately without a quorum. Other parts of the Open Meetings Act remain intact, like requirements that boards, councils and commissions vote in public, post meeting agendas and give notice of upcoming meetings.

The provision, which had made such meetings a crime carrying a potential fine and up to six months of jail time, was ruled “unconstitutionally vague.”

The ruling came as a result of the indictment of Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal for allegedly holding “secret deliberations” without a quorum of commissioners present for a 2015 road bond issue.

Doyle claimed the provision was unconstitutional and after multiple overturns from lower courts, The Texas Court of Appeals ruled 7-2 in his favor.

Presiding Judge Sharon Keller wrote for the majority that the provision was “unconstitutionally vague.”

While the ruling could reshape the way members of governmental bodies interact within the state, Nederland City Manager Chris Duque said the City Council there will follow Gov. Greg Abbott’s advice about following the spirit of the law. Abbott is a former state attorney general.

“The way we understand it to be groups can’t have what they call a ‘walking quorum’,” Duque said. “There can’t be group texting or meetings outside where they discuss how they will vote. We all know you’re not supposed to do that.

“There is a difference between asking someone individually what they think about something. It’s another thing to say ‘So-and-so says this, and they’re planning to vote this way.’

“If you continue that cycle, you’re creating a ‘walking quorum’ by carrying that information forward from that party to the next to influence them.”

A “walking quorum” doesn’t allow the public to hear discussions about topics that are in the public’s interests.

Nederland City Clerk Gay Ferguson said it’s better to err on the side of caution. Ferguson said each member of the council has to take a test on the Open Meetings Act after being elected.

“They might address it in the new legislative session, but they have a lot on their plate,” Duque said of a clarification being made to the provision. “If nothing new has come out to address that, I think we’ll still continue the way we did in the past. I think that makes sense. You try to be as open as you can, and I think they follow that.”