Frontlines

Conroe judge settles open meeting case with DA

CONROE — Montgomery County Judge Alan Sadler reached an out-of-court settlement with prosecutors to keep him from being charged with violating the Open Meetings Act, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The settlement will prompt the commissioners court to change the way it deals with the discussion of pending business between less than a quorum outside of a public meeting. The judge said non-meeting discussions could continue but no one could advocate a position.

The practice was challenged after a complaint that the judge lobbied two commissioners to support a library policy change he wanted.

The settlement comes on the heels of a similar agreement reached a few weeks earlier with Montgomery County Hospital District board member Nicol Huff. In both cases the officials and prosecutors would not disclose the terms that led to the officials avoiding prosecution.

El Campo Leader News seeks student drug-testing records 

EL CAMPO — The El Campo school district asked the attorney general’s office whether it must release information on student drug testing results.

The El Campo Leader News filed a request for the types of illegal drugs found in the test and the kinds of students testing positive by age, race, grade and gender. The district began mandatory drug testing of students in extracurricular activities this year and after five students tested positive, the newspaper filed the request.

Judge gags press coverage of 13-year-old’s murder trial 

ATHENS — The public and media were banned from attending any court hearings in the case of a 13-year-old accused of killing his 12-year-old sister, the Athens Daily Review reported.

The gag order, granted by 173rd District Judge Jack Holland, also prevents law enforcement officers, court participants, attorneys and witnesses from commenting on the case.

The order prohibits the media from photographing the child at any time during the proceedings or as he is being transported in and out of the courthouse. It also prevents any reporting in detail on the evidence obtained.

Mount Vernon officials add specifics to agenda

MOUNT VERNON — The Franklin County Commissioners Court relented to a challenge by the Mt. Vernon Optic Herald on an agenda for an Oct. 10 special meeting.

The county’s meeting notice did not specify what topics would be discussed at an executive session. The newspaper asked the court to be more specific in the notice and the county complied after two more attempts.

The agenda item originally said “litigation” would be discussed.

Questions surface over Howard County meeting 

BIG SPRING — Two Howard County commissioners said a misunderstanding led to a quorum being present to discuss county business after a special meeting, the Big Spring Herald reported.

The county also came under fire for approving its 2003-04 budget during the special meeting even though a vote was not listed on the meeting agenda.

The commissioners told the newspaper they planned to meet with the county auditor in her office to review applications for a new court fine collector but the space was too cramped so they returned to the commissioners courtroom.

One of the commissioners told the newspaper that after they finished reviewing the applications and “turned the light off” to leave the county judge walked in so they sought his opinion on training for warrant officers.

The sheriff, who opened the door to the courtroom at some point during the meeting but did not enter, had a different interpretation and told the newspaper that the officials appeared to be huddling together to reach a consensus.

Lamar County committee skirts open meeting law 

PARIS — A Lamar County salary grievance committee appears to have discussed county business without meeting the notice requirements, The Paris News reported.

The board met to discuss two grievances filed by a justice of the peace and the county judge, who requested that the discussion be held in an open meeting.

The board remained in the meeting place but members huddled together out of the public’s hearing range, the newspaper reported. All four county commissioners also were present but the meeting was not posted.

Invitation-only meeting excludes public but is legal 

MOUNT PLEASANT — The Sulphur River Basin Authority did not violate the Open Meetings Act by holding an invitation-only meeting to present information on the economic impact of the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir, the Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune reported.

State Rep. Robert Puente, D-San Antonio, asked the attorney general for an opinion on the legality of the meeting held earlier in 2003.

The river authority told the AG that a quorum of the board, which has six members appointed by the governor, did not attend the meeting.

Jefferson County probes Commissioners budget vote 

PORT ARTHUR — The district attorney’s office is investigating whether officials violated the Open Meetings Act is creating a new county budget office, the Port Arthur News reported.

Two commissioners said the office was not included in the proposed budget published Sept. 19 and they were surprised to see it in the final budget.