TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT UPHELD-VICTORY FOR TRANSPARENCY IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Elected officials in Texas, you will just have to go back to being really, really, really scared. The Texas Open Meetings Act is still constitutional.  On Friday U.S. District Judge Robert Junell in Midland issued a 37-page defense of the law, flattening each of the arguments made by public officials who sued, contending they were afraid to be more open with the people who elected them for fear of violating the law.

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RECENTLY, THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF HARLINGEN, TEXAS, CHRIS BOSWELL, IN AN BLATANT EFFORT TO STIFLE FREE SPEECH AT CITY COMMISSION MEETINGS, ARBITRARILY REDUCED THE TIME ALLOWED CITIZENS TO SPEAK DURING THE "CITIZENS COMMENT" PERIOD OF CITY COMMISSION MEETINGS FROM 5 MINUTES  FOR EACH CITIZEN TO 2 MINUTES EACH.  THIS IS CLEARLY AN ATTEMPT BY THE MAYOR TO REDUCE OPPOSITION FORCES FROM AIRING THEIR GRIEVANCES IN A TIMELY MANNER BEFORE AN AUDIENCE OF THEIR ELECTED OFFICIALS.  A CLEAR ATTEMPT TO BLOCK FREE SPEECH!  

READ: TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT UPHELD BY JUDGE