BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 690

                                                                                                                                        By: Zaffirini

State Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, the Open Meetings Act does not address the situation where a governmental body recesses from day to day when addressing particularly long subject matter.  Furthermore, notification of a meeting must be 72 hours in advance.  The Government Code contains exceptions to the posting requirement, but no exception addresses the situation of a day to day recess. 
 
There are existing attorney general opinions that allow a governmental body to recess until the following day without having to post notification.  According to the opinions, the recess until the next day is permitted when with long subject matter that the governmental body is unable to finish during the original open meeting. 
 
SB 690 codifies several attorney general opinions to allow a governmental body to recess to the following regular business day without having to post notification of the meeting if the action is done in good faith. 
 

An additional provision considers a catastrophic event that prevents the governmental body from convening open meeting that was properly posted.  In such an event, the governmental body may convene in a convenient location within 72 hours.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

 
Provides that Section 551.041 (Notice of Meeting Required) does not require a governmental body that recesses a meeting to the following regular business day to post notice of the continued meeting if the action is taken in good faith and not to circumvent this chapter. Requires a governmental body to give written notice if a meeting is continued to the following business day and on that following day the governmental body continues the meeting to another day.
 
Authorizes a governmental body that is prevented from convening an open meeting that was otherwise properly posted because of a catastrophe to convene the meeting in a convenient location within 72 hours pursuant to Section 551.045 (Exception to General Rule: Notice of Emergency Meeting or Emergency Addition to Agenda) if the action is taken in good faith and not to circumvent this chapter. Requires written notice for the governmental body to convene if it is unable to convene the open meeting within those 72 hours
 
Defines "catastrophe." 
 

EFFECTIVE DATE

Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2005.