A Travis County district court ruled June 23 that Hays County commissioners violated the Texas Open Meetings Act, or TOMA, in placing a $440 million road bond—Proposition A—on the November 2024 ballot.
How we got here
The ruling follows a lawsuit filed Oct. 24, 2024, by four Hays County property owners: Les Carnes, Cathy Ramsey, Jim Camp and Gabrielle Moore, who alleged commissioners failed to properly disclose key details in the Aug. 13, 2024, meeting agenda, including the bond’s purpose, amount, and proposed tax rate increase.
Proposition A later passed with more than 55% of the vote in the Nov. 7 election, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.
Attorney Bill Aleshire, who represented the plaintiffs, said the case was initially filed in Hays County, but because Hays County attorneys filed related bond litigation in Travis County, the matter was ultimately handled there as part of a consolidated proceeding.
The court found that the county did not meet legal requirements for public notice under TOMA, which mandates that a "governmental body shall give written notice of the date, hour, place, and subject of each meeting held by the governmental body.”
What's next
Hays County Commissioners Court has not issued an official statement, but according to Aleshire, the county can no longer act on the bond despite the passing of the proposition in November.
"They violated the Open Meetings Act, and under the act, the penalty is that the court reverses the action—in this case, calling the election—and declares it void,” Aleshire said. “Because the election was never properly called, the judge granted the election contest. Hays County is now enjoined from taking any action, including issuing the bonds, that relies on the voter approval of that election.”
However, Hays County Precinct 4 Commissioner Walt Smith criticized the ruling in a statement on Facebook.
"Today is a sad day indeed for the citizens of Hays County," Smith said in the post. "A Travis County District judge chose to ignore over 100 thousand of our citizens and side with Save Our Springs and nullify their votes, thus disenfranchising them and letting them know their choice didn’t matter. ... Please remember this when we have new schools without adequate roads, when it takes you 40 minutes to get [your] little to class, or you hear of the next wreck that costs a life near your neighborhood."
Hays County officials said they have no comment at this time.
