Author Archives: Byron L. Brown
Does a Special Right of Access to Public Information Mean Access at No Cost?
In a previous article, I wrote about the costs that may be charged to a requestor for responding to a request for public information. To recap, a requestor generally must pay the cost of personnel time and materials needed to respond to their request for public information, but may not be charged for costs… Read More »
The Law of Finding Treasure in Texas
Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Super Bowl LV champions. Between the Buccaneers and their opponents, the Kansas City Chiefs, I would have thought that only the latter had a controversial team name, but according to the Washington Post, “there is danger in romanticizing ruthless cutthroats.” Nevertheless, the Bucs victory coincided for me, personally,… Read More »
Warnings Great and Small, Who Standardizes Them All?
My daughter, who has recently reached the “bazillion questions” stage of toddlerhood, is currently obsessed with warning signs. I cannot seem to go anywhere without her spotting some sign or decal with a picture inside of a bold, red triangle or inside of a circle with a slash through it and asking what it… Read More »
And/Or: Which Is It? Avoiding Ambiguity in Legal Writing
You know the “Conjunction Junction” song from the School House Rock series, right? Sure you do. It’s the kind of thing that you only need to encounter once for it to become an earworm for life. There you go—it’s in your head now, isn’t it. Well, believe it or not, a vast number of… Read More »
Building a Backyard Office May Require Approvals, Increase Property Value
It should come as no surprise that, ever since the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the United States in early 2020, a substantial portion of the American workforce has been working from home. If you purchased your home with the idea of working from home in mind, you may have selected a house with a… Read More »
Concurrently Scheduling Online and In-Person Public Meetings under the Texas Open Meetings Act
Certain laws require cities, counties, and other governmental entities to give advance public notice prior to taking certain actions—usually holding a public hearing. Sometimes, that notice must be published in a newspaper, posted on a website, or even mailed directly to certain interested parties. Typically, there is nothing particularly challenging about giving advance notice… Read More »
Criteria for Attorney-Client Privilege to Apply in the Real World
Most people are aware that the attorney-client privilege exists, even if they have never been represented by an attorney themselves. However, partially due to its portrayal in pop culture (anyone remember the “put a dollar in my pocket” scene from Breaking Bad?), there are many misconceptions about when the privilege applies and to what… Read More »
Risky Business for Open Meetings: Including Announcements and Future Agenda Items
The Texas Open Meetings Act generally requires that a governmental body give written notice of the date, hour, place, and subject of each meeting held by the governmental body, notice of which must be given at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting. Therefore, a governmental body is generally prohibited from discussing a… Read More »
City Council Meetings in a COVID World: Maintaining Quorums and Technology
The onset of the COVID-19 crisis initially loosened the rules for how local governments may hold open meetings via teleconference, but earlier this month as Texas enters the latest operational phase for opening up regular business, the state of play has changed again for virtual city council meeting participation. When the Open Meetings Act… Read More »
Cancelled: Scratching a Public Notice under the Texas Open Meetings Act
The Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code, sets out the minimum requirements for providing public notice of a meeting of a governmental body and prohibits a governmental body from meeting unless the meeting has been properly noticed. The Act is replete with highly technical requirements for not only providing… Read More »