HBA-TYH H.B. 2114 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2114
By: Danburg
State Affairs
3/16/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The 75th Legislature passed H.B. 92 to give counties and municipalities the
authority to create sports and community venue districts to provide for the
planning, acquisition, establishment, development, construction, or
renovation of a venue project under certain conditions.  This bill also
subjects the sports and community venue districts to the Open Meetings Act,
Chapter 551 (Open Meetings), Government Code.  An appeals court has ruled
that a sports and community venue  district's board or its committees can
hold closed meetings if no deliberations, which require a verbal exchange,
occur at the meetings.  H.B. 2114 requires a sports and community venue
district's board or committee to be subject to the Open Meetings Act,
whether or not deliberations occur. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 335.023, Local Government Code, by adding
Subsections (c) and (d), as follows: 

(c)  Provides that notwithstanding Section 551.001 (Definitions),
Government Code: 
  
(1)  a board or a committee of a board of a sports and community venue
district (board or committee) is considered to be meeting for purposes of
Chapter 551 (Open Meetings), Government Code, without regard to whether
there is a deliberation between a quorum or between a quorum and another
person, if: 
  
(A) public business or public policy over which the board has supervision
is discussed at a gathering of a quorum; and 
   
(B)  the gathering of the quorum is not at a social function as described
by Section 551.001(4), Government Code; and 
  
(2)  a committee of a board is considered to be a governmental body for
purposes of Chapter 551, Government Code, without regard to whether the
committee has rulemaking or quasi-judicial power, or functions only in an
advisory capacity.  
 
(d)  Provides that Section 551.075 (Conference With Employees; Closed
Meeting), Government Code, does not apply to a meeting of a board or
committee. 

SECTION 2.  Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.