Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1974 )

November 15, 1974
The Honorable Joe Rerweber Opinion -No. Hi 450
Harrir County Attorney
Harrir County Courthouse Re: Notice requirements bf
Houston, Texar 77002 Open Meetingr Act.
Dear Mr. Reeweber:
You ark what the Board of Truateem of the Mental Health and
Mental Retardation Authority of Harrir County (Board) murt do in
order to satirfy the notice requiremente of the Open Meetings Act,
Art. 625247, V. T. C. S. Your quertionr are:
1. Can mattera to be conridered by the Commiaeionere
Court, acting ae the Board of Trurteer of the Mental.
Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Hgrrir Co&y,
be included ia the regular Notice of Public Meeting of
the Commirrioners Court meeting or ia a reparate
notice required for the Mental Health and Mental
Retardation Authority of Harrie County?
2. Lf ruch Notice can be combined, how and where
should euch combined notice be poeted?
3. If such Notice cannot be combined, how and where
should the separate Notice of the Mental Health and
Mental Retardation Authority be ported?
Subject to certain specified exceptions, the Open Meeting8 Act
requires every regular, special. or called meeting or session of every
governmental body to be open to the public. “Governmental body” ia
defined iii’41(c) of the Act ae:
“Governmental body” meanr any board, commirrrion,
department, committee, or agency within the executive
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The Honorable Joe Resweber page 2 (H-450)
or legislative department of the rtate. which in
under the direction of one or more elected or
appointed membero; and every Commiarionerr
Court and city council in the atate, and every
deliberative body having rule-making or quasi-,
judicial power and classified as a department,
agency, or political subdivision of a county or
city: and the board of trueteea of every school ”
district, and every county board of school trunteer. , ,’
and county board of education; and the governing
board of every special district heretofore or
hereafter created by law.
Before a governmental body can hold a meeting, notice muat,be given
in the following manner:
Sec. 3A. (a) Written notice of the date, hour
place, and subject of each meeting held by a
governmental body &all be given before the
meeting aa prercribed by this section.
(b) A State governmental body ehall furnish
notice to the Secretary of State, who nhall then
post the notice on a bulletin board to be located
in the main office of the Secretary of State at a
place convenient to the public.
(c) A city governmental body ehall have a
notice posted on a bulletin board to be located
at a place convenient to the public in the city hall.
(d) A county governmental body shall have a
notice posted on a bulletin board located at a place
convenient to the public in the county courthoure.
In order to answer your questions, we must first determine whether
the Board is a state, city or county governmental body. The Texas Mental
Health and Mental Retardation Act, Articlea 5547-201 through 5547-204,
V.T.C.S., authorize6 the establishment of community mental health centers
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The Honorable Joe Resweber page 3 (H-450)
in order to encourage the conservation of mental health in Texas and
to foster cooperation for thin purpose at both the &ate and local level.
Community centers may be established by a county, a city, a hospital
district, a school district or any organizational combination of two
or more of there entitier. Article 5547-203, 5 3.01. “The board of
trustees of community centers established by a single city, county,
hospital district or school district may be the governing body of the
single city, county, hospital district or echo01 district, or that govern-
ing body may appoint from among the qualified voterr of the region to
be served a board of trusteen conaiating of not less than five (5) nor
more than nine (9) perBone.. ” Article 5547-203, 5 3.02(a).
The Harris County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority
is created by Harris County, and the Commiraionerr Court of Harris
County serve8 as its Board of Trustees. There are differing pronounce-
ments in various Attorney General opinionr ae to what kind of governmental
body a community health center is for purpoeer of various statutes.
However, for purposes of notice under the Open Meeting8 Act, we
believe that it ie a county governmental body, and that the purposes of
the Act are fully served by county-wide, as opposed to State-wide, notice.
As a county governmental body the Board must poet notice of its
meetings on a bulletin board located at a place convenient to the public
in the county courthouse. Article 6252-17, 5 3A(d). Each notice must
clearly set forth the date, hour,, plsce. and subject of the meeting to be
held. So long as these requirements are met, it would not be impermissible,
in our opinion, for notice of a meeting to be held by the county commis-
sioners court to be included in the same document.
SUMMARY
For purposes of the Open Meetings Act, the
Board of Truetess of the Harris County Mental
Health and Mental Retardation Authority ia a
county governmental body and accordingly muet
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.
The Honorable Joe Rerweber page 4 (H-450)
port notice of itr meeting0 on a bulletin board
located at a place convenient to the public in
the county courthouse.
Vzry truly yours,
OHN L. HILL
General of Texan
AP ED:
nn
DAVID M. KENDALL, Chairman
Opinion Committee
lg
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