Category Archives: Local Governmental Entities
Abbott’s Border Promise
Earlier this month, Governor Greg Abbott revealed a new plan to revitalize the campaign promise of former President Donald Trump to build a wall at the Texas-Mexico border. The U.S. Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations has seen a dramatic increase in border encounters with the months of March, April, and May 2021… Read More »
Community Development Block Grants
It’s hurricane season here on the Gulf Coast of Texas, and it is unlikely any of us missed NOAA’s prediction of an active hurricane season. Hurricanes, heavy rain events and flooding are part of living in this part of the U.S. and flooding is a legitimate concern world-wide. It was announced recently that Houston… Read More »
What Is This “Funding” Clause and Why Is It Needed?
Contracting for goods or services is a normal part of the day-to-day operations of a municipality in Texas. As most City Attorneys already know, there are certain provisions that are required in every contract a municipality in Texas enters into. Some of these provisions can cause confusion and concern for a vendor who is… Read More »
Rolling in the Deep (Sea)
As summer heats up, things show up. Recently, news cycles and Facebook feeds seem to have seen an uptick in the number of reports regarding endangered, odd, or record-breaking species being spotted along the country’s rivers and coastlines. Earlier this month, on the Caney Fork River in Tennessee, two friends fly fishing for striped… Read More »
City Ordinances and Child Safety Zones
Parenting is a hard job, but most parents do their best to protect their children and keep them safe. Cities in Texas are interested in the same thing. Kyle, Texas is in the news because it recently adopted a city ordinance creating child safety zones with an accompanying map of areas prohibiting residency by … Read More »
HB 3143 and Chapter 312 Tax Abatement Agreements
Tax abatement agreements, commonly referred to as 312 agreements, are never easy tasks, and with the recent updates to Chapter 312 of the Texas Tax Code, the job hasn’t gotten any easier. The most notable changes concern notice and public hearing requirements for the 312 agreements and the adoption or updating of the city’s… Read More »
When Texting Crosses the Line
Two Carroll ISD board members charged with violating the Texas Open Meetings Act were indicted by a Tarrant County grand jury for allegedly communicating outside of an authorized meeting. Carroll ISD Board President Michelle Moore and Vice President Todd Carlton face misdemeanor charges of conspiring to circumvent the Texas Open Meetings Act for secret… Read More »
Vaccine Passports? Not in Texas
As we cross the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 stay at home orders and economic shut down, things are slowly returning to normal, or at the very least some sort of new normal. As of the time of this article, approximately half of U.S. adults have received at least the first dose of the… Read More »
A Rumor ‘Bout Procurement
While probably not worthy of a ZZ Top song, a rumor has been spreadin’ a- ‘round that in a Texas town ‘bout . . . how a municipality can avoid the procurement requirements of Section 252.021, Chapter 252, of the Local Government Code when purchasing and contracting for, more often, services paid from revenues… Read More »
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 »