THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

January 13, 1989 

Honorable William R. Moore Opinion No. ~~-1007 

Tom Green County Attorney 

112 W. Beauregard Re: Applicability of certain 

San Angelo, Texas 76903 statutes to the actions of a 

local salary grievance committee (RQ-157.4) 

Dear Mr. Moore: 

You ask whether a county salary grievance committee may 

meet without the county judge, and if so, may the committee 

deliberate and vote in closed session. 

It appears that your questions are prompted by a 

grievance committee hearing concerning the equalization of a 

constable's compensation in the county. Information furnished by you reflects that the county judge directed a 

commissioner to chair the hearing in his absence. YOU 

further state that after the hearing the committee held a 

closed session to deliberate and vote. The presiding county 

commissioner participated in the closed session, but left 

before the vote was taken by the committee. 

Section 152.014 of the Local Government Code provides 

for the composition of the salary grievance committee. 

Section 152.014 states: 

(a) In each county there is a salary 

grievance committee composed of the county 

judge and: 

(1) the sheriff, county tax assessorcollector, county treasurer, county 

clerk, district clerk, county attorney or 

criminal district attorney, and the number 

of public members necessary to provide 

nine voting members; or 

(2) nine public members, if the commissioners court votes on the second 

Monday in January each year to have nine 

public members. 

p. 5180 
Honorable William R. Moore - Page 2 (ZM-1007) 

(b) The county judge is chairman of the 

committee, but is not entitled to vote. 

(c) Public members must be residents of 

the county. 

While no statutory provision is made for appointment of 

a chairman of the committee in his absence, no reason is 

perceived why a commissioner serving solely in the capacity 

of a non-voting chairman of the committee by appointment of 

the county judge would invalidate any action taken by the 

committee that was regular in all other respects. 

You also ask whether the deliberations and vote by the 

committee in closed session renders its action invalid. 

In Attorney General Opinion H-1281 (1978) it was concluded that a salary grievance committee is a 

body" under article 6252-17, V.T.C.S., and 

"governmental 

is required to 

comply with the requirements of the Open Meetings Act. All 

"meetingsB1 held by "governmental bodies" must be open to the 

public unless an executive session is expressly permitted. 

V.T.C.S. art. 6252-17, 5 2(a). Cox Enternrises. Inc. v. 

Bo rd o TN ee f th 

S.;.2d 9f56, ;:8 s(T:x. 

A stin 

1:86): 

Indeo. School Dist., 706 

Also, even if an executive 

session is authorized, no votes may be taken in executive 

session. The deliberations and vote of a governmental body 

come within the definition of a '0meeting10 as that term is 

defined in section l(a) of article 6252-17. Section 2(L) of 

the Open Meetings Act requires that all final .actions, 

decisions, or votes be made in open meetings. cox 

Enternrises, 706 S.W.2d at 958. 

You do not suggest that the 1tmeeting1t you have described comes within any exception to the act. But see art. 

6252-17, 5 2(g); cf. Attorney General Opinion H-496 (1975). 

Section 3(a), provides that any action taken by a "governmental body" in violation of this act is voidable. Whether 

a particular action should be invalidated must be decided in 

district court, and cannot be decided as a matter of law in 

an opinion of the attorney general. &g Attorney General 

Opinion JM-985 (1988). 

SUMMARY 

The action taken by a salary grievance 

committee with a non-voting commissioner 

presiding by designation of an absent county 

judge is not invalid because of his absence. 

The deliberations and vote of the salary 

P. 5181 
Honorable William R. Moore - Page 3 (JM-1007) 

grievance committee in closed session is in 

violation of article 625247, V.T.C.S., and 

any action taken at the meeting is voidable. 

JIM MATTOX 

Attorney General of Texas 

WARY KELLER 

First Assistant Attorney General 

Lou lK!cREARY 

Executive Assistant Attorney General 

JUDGE ZOLLIE STRANLHY 

Special Assistant Attorney General 

RICK GILPIN 

Chairman, Opinion Committee 

Prepared by Tom G. Davis 

Assistant Attorney General 

p. 5182