Judges: JOHN CORNYN, Attorney General of Texas
Filed Date: 12/29/1999
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/6/2016
Office of the Attorney General — State of Texas John Cornyn spacer shim The Honorable Debra Danburg Chair, Committee on Elections Texas House of Representatives P.O. Box 2910 Austin, Texas 78768-2910
Re: Whether an ad hoc intergovernmental working group is subject to the Open Meetings Act, chapter 551 of the Government Code (RQ-0096-JC)
Dear Representative Danburg:
You have requested our opinion as to whether an ad hoc intergovernmental working group is subject to the Open Meetings Act, chapter 551 of the Government Code. We conclude that, under the circumstances you describe, such an entity is not within the ambit of that statute.
Harris County, the City of Houston, and the Houston Independent School District propose to enter into a contract (the "agreement") under the Interlocal Cooperation Act, section
The three-member committee is funded by an initial deposit of $10,000 by each of the three entities into an account in the name of the county, and the account may be replenished as needed. The committee may authorize the expenditure of funds from this account with the unanimous approval of the members. Id.
A brief submitted by the committee's attorney states that "it is not contemplated that any member of the three (3) entities['] governing bodies will be a member of the committee or would attend the meetings." Brief from William E. King, Houston Managing Partner, Linebarger, Heard, Goggan, Blair, Graham, Pena, Sampson, LLP, Attorneys at Law, to Elizabeth Robinson, Chair, Opinion Committee, Office of the Attorney General, at 1 (Nov. 12, 1999) (on file with Opinion Committee) [hereinafter "Brief"]. Although nothing in the proposed interlocal agreement precludes such an arrangement, we will assume for purposes of this opinion that no county commissioner, city council member, or school trustee will serve as a member of the committee. The brief also notes that "the committee has the power to take only two actions." Id. The first is the power of "any one member . . . [to] object to the sale of any property proposed for foreclosure," on the basis of the policies of the entity he or she represents. Id. Those policies are not set by the committee, or any of its members, but are established by each entity itself. The brief explains that a member may interpose a temporary objection to a sale because of "the [in]adequacy of the work done in taking the judgment," and demand further investigation. Id. at 2. With regard to the decision of ultimate sale, however, the agreement does not permit any member to impose his or her will on the governmental entity of another member. If the other member "desires to proceed" with the sale, that particular property is removed from the terms of the agreement. See Proposed Interlocal Agreement at 4.
The other power of the committee, according to the brief, is the authority to manage "struck-off" properties, i.e., those temporarily removed from sale because the minimum bid required by statute (taxes + costs) has not been received. The agreement proposes to share the burden of maintenance costs, additional investigation, and remarketing, by permitting the committee to expend funds from its account for these purposes. The brief notes, however, that the initial deposit into the account will have been approved by the governing body of each entity, "and to the extent state law requires competitive bidding, those matters will be submitted to the governing bodies for approval."
See Brief at 2.
The Open Meetings Act defines "governmental body" as, inter alia,
(B) a county commissioners court in the state;
(C) a municipal governing body in the state;
(D) a deliberative body that has rulemaking or quasi-judicial power and that is classified as a department, agency, or political subdivision of a county or municipality;
(E) a school district of trustees;
. . . . [and]
(H) the governing board of a special district created by law; . . .
Tex. Gov't Code Ann. §
Numerous opinions have held that a subcommittee of a governmental body may itself be subject to the Open Meetings Act, even though the subcommittee consists of less than a quorum of the parent body. See, e.g., Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. Nos.
We must also consider the applicability of the court's decision in Sierra Club v. Austin Transportation Study Policy AdvisoryCommittee,
In Sierra Club, the committee was comprised of public officials
rather than employees. Sierra Club,
Yours very truly,
JOHN CORNYN Attorney General of Texas
ANDY TAYLOR First Assistant Attorney General
CLARK KENT ERVIN Deputy Attorney General — General Counsel
ELIZABETH ROBINSON Chair, Opinion Committee
Rick Gilpin Assistant Attorney General — Opinion Committee