The Woodlands, TX (Montgomery County Monitor) – The Office of the Texas Attorney General sent a letter dated March 27, 2007 to the Woodlands Community Association (WCA). The letter was prompted by a complaint from a Woodlands resident who had requested information regarding the franchise fee issue. The WCA had refused to release the requested information and had also refused to ask for a ruling from the Attorney General on this matter. The letter states, “[t]he easiest way to resolve this open records complaint is to release the requested information, provided that the requested information is not confidential by law.”
The initial request for this executive session information was dated February 16, 2007. It asked for information that was discussed in an executive session at a WCA board meeting that took place on February 13, 2007.
An executive session, which is a private closed meeting held during a portion of a regular open meeting, is allowed under the Open Meetings Act. Typically, legal counsel discusses issues with the members of the entity during these private sessions. The public is kicked out during these discussions and are allowed to re-enter once the executive session is completed.
The response to the original request claimed that, “[e]xecutive sessions are closed meetings not subject to disclosure.”
As the Attorney General’s letter states, information that is considered confidential under the Public Information Act is not subject to disclosure. However, the mere fact that information was discussed or presented in an executive session does not make that information confidential.
After the denial to release the requested information, the WCA was asked by the resident to request a ruling on this matter from the Texas Attorney General. The WCA refused and a complaint about this matter was sent to the Attorney General.
The letter that the WCA recently received (dated March 27, 2007) was the Attorney General’s response to the resident’s complaint.
