February 27, 1974
The Honorable F. H. McDowell, President Opinion No. H- 246
East Texas State University
East Texas Station Re: Does Open Meetings
Commerce, Texas 75420 Act permit Univer-
sity Board of Regents
to hold executive ses-
sion to consider grant-
Dear President McDowell: ing of honorary degree?
.You have submitted the following question to us for our opinion:
‘Xlnder the new open meeting law, can the
Board of Regents legally go into Executive Session
~to discuss a person under consideration for anon
honorary degree as a personnel item? ‘I
Texas’ Open Meetings Act, Art. 6252-17, V. T. C. S., was enacted
by the Legislature in order to assure’the public an opportunity-to be
in.fur.med concerning the transaction of public business., Toyah Ind.Sch.
Dist. v. Pecos-Barstow Ind.Sch.Dist., 466 S. W. 2d 377, 380 (Tex. Civ.
APP.. San Antonio, 1971. no-writ). Its provisions are mandatory and are
to be construed liberally in order to effect its purpose. .ToyahInd. Sch.
g&. , supra. at 379. Subject to certain limited exceptions, the Act
requires every regular, speciai or called meeting or session of every
governmental body to be open to the public. “Meeting” and “governmental
body” are defined in 5 I of the Act as follows:
“(a) ‘Meeting’ means any deliberation between
a quorum of members of a governmental body at
which any public business or public policy over which
the governmental body has supervision or control is
discussed or considered, or at which any formal
action is taken. . . . ”
p. 1135
The Honorable F.H. McDowell, page 2 (H-246)
“(c) ‘Governmental body’ means any board,
commission, department, committee, or agency
within the executive or legislative department of the
state, which is under the direction of one or more
elected or appointed members. . . .”
The Board of Regents of Texas ’ State Teachers Colleges is a board
within the executive department of the state under the direction of one or
more appointed officers. As such. it falls within the above definition of
“governmental body. ” Unless one of the exceptions listed in S 2 of the Act
applies, its’ meetings must be open to the public.
You ask whether any of the provisions of 5 2 would permit the Board
of Regents to sit in executive session when it discusses the qualifications of
persons under~ consideration for award of an honorary degree. You refer
us to 0 2(g) which permits a governmental body to meet in private when the
subject under consideration’ relates to the- “appointment, employment,
evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public
officer or employee. ” But; it is our opinion discussions about persons
under consideration for an honorary degree do not fit within the scope of
this exception which was designed primarily to prevent the unjustified harm
to an employee that might result from public discussion about matters re-
fated to his employment status which are traditionally kept confidential.
See Note, 49 Tex. L. Rev. 764, 771 (1971). It the person under considera-
tion for an honorary degree were also “a public offfce’r or employee” of~the
governmental body, privacy of the meeting would be permissible only if the _
deliberatiDns related to the “appointment, employment, ” etc., of the em-
ployee or officer.
SUMMARY
The Board of Regents of a state university may
not meet in closed executive session when considering
whether to grant an honorary degree, unless the candi-
date is also an officer or employee of the university and
the meeting relates to his appointment, employment, etc.
Attorney General of Texas
p. 1136
The Honorable F.H. McDowell, page 3 (H-246)
DAVID M. KENDALL, Chadman
Opinion Committee
p. 1137