Legal Services

	"We have a group of active members of the public who like to provide their opinion on a variety of topics (some relevant and some not) at our open meetings. We want to hear from the public, but we can't stay in the meeting all day. Is there anything we can do to limit the speaking time for each person?"

What authority does the commissioners court have to stop disruptions from court attendees?

Government Code §551.007 states that a member of the public who wants to address a government body regarding an item on an open meeting agenda is allowed to do so before or during the body’s consideration of the item. A commissioners court may  adopt reasonable rules regarding the public's right to address an item on the agenda, including rules that limit the total amount of time that a member of the public may address the court on a given agenda item. For more information, see our Open Meetings Act publication.