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. .. .
~=JZ ATIVDKNEY GENEKAL
OF TEXAS
The Honorable Joe Reeweber Opinion No. H-785
County Attorney
Harris County Courthouse Re: Whether breakfast
Houston, Texan lqeetingaof the Commis-
donera', @wrt are
required to be open to
the public and preceded
., by notice under the Open
Meetings Act.
Dear Mr. Rmweber:
You ask if breakfast meetings of the Comrdbioners’
Court are required to.be open and preceded by notice under
the Open Meetings Act, 'article6252-17, V.T.C.S.
Specifically, you inform ua that an individual com-
missioner
rubmitted a proposal to the Ilarris~County
Commissioners Court that the members of
the Commissioners Court'host regularly
ncheduled breakfast meetings. These
breakfast gatherings would not be open '.
to the public and'no notice df'such
would be posted. ,The purpose of such
gatherings would be to provide an oppor-
tunity for various invited elected offi-
cials to know one another on an individ-
ual basis, in an atmosphere where business
dicrcusaionwould not be scheduled.
p. 3312
The Honorable Joe Reaweber - page 2 (H-785)
The scope of the Open Meetings Act's coverage is estab-
lished in the definition of "governmental body" and “meeting.”
Attorney General opinion H-772 (1976,).'Clearly, the Conunis-
aionera' Court is a governmental body. Sec. l(c). It is
necessary, then, to determine whether the proposed break-
fasts will constitute meetings. Section 1 of the Act provides
in part:
'Section 1. As used in this Act:
(a) 'Meeting' means any deliberation'
between.,aquorum of members of a govern-
mental body at which any public business
or public policy over which the govern-
mental body has supervision or control is
discussed or considered, or at which any
formal action is taken. It shall not be
construed that the intent of this defini-
tion is to prohibit the gathering of mem-
bers of the governmental body in numbers
of a quorum or more for social functions
unrelated'to the public business which is
conducted by the body. . . .
From this definition it is apparent that the proposed
breakfasts would constitute meetings required to be open to
the public and preceded by notice, if a quorum is present
and "any public business or public policy over which the
(Commissioners' Court] has supervision or control is discussed
or considered. . . ." Only if the breakfasts are purely
social in nature and do not. in s wa involve discussion or
consideration of public busi=ss or -5
pu lit policy would they
be outside the scope of the Act.
p. 3313
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The Honorable Joe Reaweber - page 3 (H-785)
SUMMARY
Breakfast meetinga of the Commissioners'
Court must be open to the public and pre-
ceded by notice if public business or
public policy over which the Court has
superviaion or control is considered.
Very truly yours,
Attorney General Of Texas
&,;. It
. , irs Aaaiatant
BERT i
Opinion Committee
jwb
p. 3314