The court will now meet on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at 1 p.m. starting Oct. 9, county officials said. Meetings on Sept. 9 and 23 are expected to proceed as scheduled.
Zooming in
House Bill 1522, authored by State Rep. Stan Gerdes, R-Smithville, was passed June 20 during the 89th Texas Legislature to increase the current 72-hour notice requirement for public meetings to three business days, meaning weekends and holidays no longer count toward the minimum posting period.
The new law, which goes into effect Sept. 1, is intended to give residents more time to review meeting agendas and participate in local government decisions, according to the bill analysis.
“While this is meant to provide for government transparency and citizen participation, the bill author has informed the committee that the language of the current law can be used to the advantage of a local government whereby the intended transparency is infringed upon,” Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham said in the bill analysis.
What’s next
The court will begin the new meeting schedule in October with an exception for Nov. 20 and Dec. 18, which will be held a week early due to holidays, per agenda documents.
