Anyone know if it's okay to tape city/county council meetings?

[liveoaktx]

ala "open meetings" act? Where I used to live, there was a camera guy who filmed meetings which were broadcast live on the local cable channel. We don't have cable where I live now, thinking I could record the meeting and then stream it from a movie file on the internet.

I can't get a definitive answer from the county, though (I'm assuming because they don't really want the meetings filmed)

[whalerider55]

1. it is here in MA

all city council meetings are broadcast live and repeated on community access cable tv stations. i'd suggest that would be the way to go. then it isn't personal. of course, you can't tape executive sessions, but there are strict stips on what can happen in executive session.

whalerider 55

[whalerider55]

2. no cable?

no community access?
hmmm.
i thought cable was insidious.
nothing regional?

no "lunch menu" channel?

whalerider55

[liveoaktx]

4. When you live in the boonies far from cable, you get satellite

which does NOT have local channels, aside from the network broadcast channels from big city

[tabasco]

3. If they are public meetings, why not?

I am working on some local government accountability here in MD. I think it would be a great idea to record every meeting. We have no real press in my area and county officials are ruling by decree.

[Doohickie]

5. I'll tell you why not....

...because Texas has some weird-ass laws. Call your local City Hall and ask. The transcript of the meeting should be a matter of public record, though.

[liveoaktx]

6. I called the state atty general's office =answer

I was told that, pursuant to the open meetings act, video recording of meetings is fine. (Subject to, of course, such things as not being disruptive, etc). However, I was talking to the county judge this morning and he said, well, we (meaning the county) haven't decided if that's okay, we have no policy. He also said that even though the county commisioners meetings were open to the public, they were not public meetings (?). I asked him if he would kick me out if I show up and he said no. I have another call into the atty general to ask about this, as I would assume that the Open Meetings act that allows taping of meetings. I also find it disturbing that these county meetings would not be considered public meetings. What in the world would make that distinction?

[liveoaktx]

8. Atty gen's office called me back again and I put the above

question to him, ie, can the local county commissioners prevent me from recording a public meeting simply because they have no policy on it? AG says no, they would then be in violation of the state legislature's Open Meetings Act and be breaking the law.

I have printed out the pertinent sections OF THE LAW to take with me when I go.

[liveoaktx]

7. Here's a link to the Open Meetings Act in Texas

http://www.bickerstaff.com/articles/openm989.htm#IIIC

Some parts I am particularly interested in:
WHO DOES IT APPLY TO

B. Local Governmental Bodies
The portion of the definition of governmental body which applies to local governmental entities includes:

every Commissioners Court and city council in the state,
every deliberative body having rule-making or quasi-judicial power and classified as a department, agency, or political subdivision of a county or city,
the board of trustees of every school district,
every county board of school trustees and county board of education,
certain non-profit water supply or wastewater service corporations, and
the governing board of every special district heretofore or hereafter created by law.


C. Meetings May Be Tape-Recorded and Videotaped
A series of decisions has led to the current status of the Act regarding the recording of meetings. Shortly after the Act was adopted, an attorney general opinion concluded that the statute did not require a commissioners court to permit the live broadcast of its meetings on the radio or the taping of its meetings for later broadcast. Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No. M-180 (1968). Subsequently, the legislature amended the statute to permit tape recording of meetings.

The next question to arise involved the right of a member of the governmental body to tape-record an executive session. In Zamora v. Edgewood Indep. School Dist., 592 S.W.2d 649 (Tex. Civ. App.--Beaumont 1979, writ ref'd n.r.e.), the court concluded that an individual trustee was not authorized to tape-record an executive session over the objection of a majority of the members of the board. The court relied on the fact that the legislature specifically authorized the use of tape recorders at public meetings and applied the rule of expressio unius est exclusio alterius. The court concluded that by specifically approving the use of recording devices in the public meetings, the legislature had necessarily denied their use in executive session. 592 S.W.2d at 650.

This led to an inquiry involving the right to videotape a public meeting. Using the same rationale as the court in Zamora, the Attorney General concluded that the statute did not guarantee the right to videotape a public meeting. Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No. JM-351 (1985).

The legislature responded to this opinion in 1987 by amending the Act so that videotaping is now expressly permitted. § 551.023 .

****So, it appears to me that any attempt to stop me from videotaping without some kind of *policy* first is violating this open meetings act. I intend to verify this with the state.