El Diario de El Paso has done it again. In an article the other day they wrote about item 27 on the commissioner’s court agenda for April 22, 2013.
The backup material for the item reads:
Discuss and take appropriate action on prohibiting the use of private/personal cellular phones for texting, instant messaging and the use of private electronic communication devices during open meeting by a Court member.
Hallelujah!
An elected official wants to respect the Texas open meetings act. I thank him.
In the past other elected officials have contended that they have a personal right to receive private communications from family and other people during public meetings. Maybe they do. If it becomes necessary for them to communicate with their family during a meeting, they should excuse themselves from the meeting and do it in private.
We have seen through what we commonly call open records requests that elected officials communicate between themselves and staff during public meetings. How can that be public? The public is supposed to be able to see and hear all communications relating to the business of the meeting.
I look forward to how the court will handle this matter.
More progress
Also item 14 on the April 23, 2013 city council agenda would direct the city attorney (hopefully without Scrivener’s help) to draft an ordinance similar to the one in Austin Texas that would make electronic communications with elected city officials and city staff through city owned facilities public property. I think they already are, but this would be a nice step in the right direction. I don’t see a proposed ban on the practice council members texting about city business during council meetings.
I note that I did not see a mention of these issues in The El Paso Times, I hope that I just missed it.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 