November 15, 1974

The Honorable Joe Rerweber Harrir County Attorney Harrir **County Courthouse**  Houston, Texar 77002 Dear Mr. Reeweber: Opinion -No. Hi 450 Re: Notice requirements bf Open Meetingr Act.

You **ark** what the Board of Truateem of theMental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Harrir County (Board) murt doin order to satirfy the notice requiremente ofthe Open Meetings Act, **Art. 625247,**  V. T. C. S. Your quertionr are:

1. Can mattera to **be** conridered by the Commiaeionere Court, acting ae the Board of Trurteer ofthe Mental. Health andMental Retardation Authority ofHgrrir Co&y, be included ia the regular Notice of Public Meeting of the Commirrioners Court meeting or ia a reparate notice required for the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority ofHarrie County? 2. Lfruch Notice can be combined, how and where should euch combined notice be poeted?
**3. If**  such Notice **cannot** be combined, how andwhere should the separate Notice ofthe Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority **be**ported? Subject to certain specified exceptions, the Open Meeting8 Act requires every regular, special. or called meeting or session of every governmental body to **be** open to the public. “Governmental body” ia defined iii’41(c) oftheAct ae: “Governmental body” meanr **any** board, commirrrion, department, committee, or agency within the executive

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or legislative department ofthe rtate. which in under the direction of one or more elected or appointed membero; and every Commiarionerr **Court** and city council in the atate, and every deliberative bodyhaving rule-making or quasi-, judicial power andclassified as a department, agency, or political subdivision ofa county or city: and theboard of **trueteea** of every school ” district, and every county board of school trunteer. and county board ofeducation; and the governing board of every special district heretofore or hereafter created bylaw. , ,’

Before a governmental **body** canhold a meeting, notice muat,be given in thefollowing manner: Sec. 3A. (a) Written notice of the date, hour place, and subject of each meeting held by

### a governmental body &all be given before the meeting aa prercribed by this section. (b) **A** State governmental body ehall furnish notice to the Secretary of State, who nhall then post the notice ona bulletin board to belocated in the main office ofthe Secretary of State at a place convenient to thepublic. (c) A city governmental body ehall have a notice posted ona bulletin board to be located ata place convenient to thepublic in the city hall. (d) A county governmental body shall have a notice posted ona bulletin board located at a place convenient to thepublic in the county courthoure. Inorder toanswer your questions, we must first determine whether theBoard is a state, city or county governmental body. The Texas Mental Health and Mental Retardation Act, Articlea 5547-201 through 5547-204, V.T.C.S., authorize6 the establishment of community mental health centers

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in order to encourage the conservation of mental healthin Texas and to foster cooperation for thin purpose at both the &ate and local level. Community centers may be established by a county, a city, a hospital district, a school district or any organizational combination of two or more ofthere entitier. Article 5547-203, 53.01. “The board of **trustees** ofcommunity centers established by a single city, county, hospital district or school district may be the governing body of the single city, county, hospital district or echo01 district, or **that** governing body may appoint from among the qualified voterr ofthe region to be served a board of **trusteen** conaiating of notless thanfive (5) nor more thannine (9) perBone.. ” Article 5547-203, 53.02(a).

The Harris County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority is created byHarris County, and the Commiraionerr Court ofHarris County serve8 as its Board of Trustees. There are differing pronouncements in various Attorney General opinionr ae towhatkind of governmental bodya community health center is for purpoeer ofvarious statutes. However, for purposes ofnotice under the OpenMeeting8 Act, we believe thatitie a county governmental body, andthatthe purposes of theAct are fully served by county-wide, as opposed toState-wide, notice.

As a county governmental body the Board must poet notice ofits meetings ona bulletin board located at a place convenient tothe public in the county courthouse. Article 6252-17, 53A(d). Each notice must clearly set forth the date, hour,, plsce. and subject ofthe meeting to be held. So long as these requirements are met, itwouldnot be impermissible, in our opinion, for notice of a meeting to beheld bythe county commissioners court to be included in the same document. SUMMARY For purposes ofthe Open Meetings Act, the Board of Truetess ofthe Harris CountyMental Health and Mental Retardation Authority ia **a** county governmental body and accordingly muet

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The Honorable Joe Rerweber page 4 (H-450)

port notice ofitr meeting0 onabulletin board located at aplace convenient to the public in the county courthouse. Vzry **truly yours,** 

AP ED: OHN L. HILL General of Texan 

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DAVID M. KENDALL, Chairman Opinion Committee lg

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