PRESS RELEASE: Bowie County Commissioner's Court meeting was not legally held
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEApril 26, 2010
Contact: Natalie Nichols
903-824-7081
Texarkana, TX--Monday, April 26, 2010, Bowie County Commissioner’s Court meeting was not legally held.
Natalie Nichols, Republican Nominee for Bowie County Clerk, stated that the Bowie County Commissioner’s Court held an illegal meeting Monday. Nichols said, “The Texas Open Meetings Act requires that a city, county, school district, or sales tax economic development corporation publish notice of its meetings on its Internet website, if one exists.” According to Nichols, the notice must be properly posted at least 72 hours prior to the meeting, or the meeting cannot legally be held. Any meetings that are held without proper notice are in violation of the act.
The meeting was held at the Bowie County courthouse at 10:00 am on April 26th, 2010.
Nichols said, “I went to the courthouse after I found out that a meeting actually took place today. I spoke with James Carlow, Bowie County Judge to inform him of the situation. I told him that I was respectfully requesting the Commissioner’s Court re-hold the meeting. I also explained to him that our County Clerk should be aware of the requirements under the Texas Open Meetings Act.” Nichols further stated, “Judge Carlow called me later to tell me that Chris Goodsell, the purchasing agent, had mistakenly forgotten to post the meeting online, as the act required. He told me that the current County Clerk, Velma Moore, was not responsible for preparing the Commissioner’s Court agendas or for posting their notices.”
Unlike most County Clerks in the state of Texas, Velma Moore is not responsible for posting the notices. Instead, this duty is the responsibility of Chris Goodsell, the county’s Purchasing Agent.
“He said that Ms. Goodsell felt bad about the error and that he didn’t know what else to do other than to hold the meeting again. I agreed and thanked him,” added Nichols.
Nichols has stated throughout her campaign that she would “follow the laws to the fullest extent of the law.” She has stated in various campaign appearances around the county that all of the Texas Open Meetings Act laws were not currently being complied with. With regard to Carlow’s statement that it was not Moore‘s responsibility, Nichols did not agree.
“Velma Moore stamps all notices prior to posting them on the County’s bulletin board. As an elected official who is entrusted by the people to follow the law, she has a duty to make sure that notices she has put her good name on are in compliance with the law.”
Bowie County Clerk, like all other elected County Officials, is required to have completed training on the Texas Open Meetings Act. Chris Goodsell does not have that same requirement and is not the responsible party here.
“Something needs to change so that we ensure that Bowie County business is being conducted within the letter of the law. Most County Clerks do prepare Commissioner‘s Court agendas and post them. This is one of the most basic functions of the job,” Nichols said.
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For your convenience, here is some reference material so that you can double-check the validity of the statements:
PDF from Texas Attorney General, "Open Meetings Made Easy." (Page 3, Publishing Meeting Notices on the Internet.)
2010 Open Meetings Handbook
Texas Open Meetings Act:
Section 551.056 requires certain governmental bodies and economic development corporations
to post notice on their Internet Web sites, in addition to other postings required by the Act. This
provision applies to the following entities, if the entity maintains an Internet Web site or has a
Web site maintained for it:
(1) a municipality;
(2) a county;
(3) a school district;
(4) the governing body of a junior college or junior college district, including a
college or district that has changed its name in accordance with Chapter 130,
Education Code; and
(5) a development corporation organized under the Development Corporation
Act (Subtitle C1, Title 12, Local Government Code).175
(6) a regional mobility authority included within the meaning of an “authority”
as defined by Section 370.003, Transportation Code.176
If a covered municipality’s population is 48,000 or more and a county’s population is 65,000 or
more, it must also post the agenda for the meeting on its Web site.177 Section 551.056 also
provides that the validity of a posted notice made in good faith to comply with the Act is not
affected by a failure to comply with its requirements due to a technical problem beyond the
control of the entity.178