The Courier of Montgomery County reports that, in order to accommodate a new Texas law that changes notice requirements for agendas, Montgomery County Commissioners will move their regular meetings to Thursday beginning January 1st.
Instead of the present 72-hour rule, House Bill 1522 mandates a three-business-day notice for agendas.
The county has already adopted it’s meeting schedule for the year, while the new law takes effect on September 1st. A switch to the Thursday schedule January 1st was suggested by Commissioner Ritch Wheeler.
The county posts its agenda on Fridays for its Tuesday meetings, at present
Representative Stan Gerdes said unethical officials “can take, and in the past have taken, advantage of the open ended wording surrounding the laws pertaining to local government postings.” Gerdes introduced the bill. He said what was allowed in the past was people would “make postings late Friday for a Monday hearing.” This withheld important information for the public.
First Assistant County Attorney Amy Davidson said implementing the new law previous to January 1st will be a “significant departure” from how agendas are posted.
Davidson said to do this the agenda will have to be posted on Wednesday in order to allow for a Tuesday meeting schedule through the end of 2025.
Commissioner Matt Gray supported making the switch before January 1st.
Fellow court members, however, agreed a January 1st change was more sensible.
