Can a Texas university board let regents join a regular meeting by phone?

Plain-English summary

The Chair of the University of Houston System Board of Regents asked whether the board could hold a regular meeting at which a quorum is physically present, while other regents who cannot attend in person participate by telephone from a remote location. The request also asked the Attorney General to reconsider an earlier opinion, DM-478 (1998), which had said a higher-education governing body could not conduct a regular meeting by telephone conference call.

The Attorney General concluded that a higher-education governing board may not hold a regular meeting with members participating from remote locations except as expressly authorized by the Open Meetings Act. The Act lets a board hold a regular meeting where a quorum is physically present at one location and other members join by videoconference, but only if the board complies with section 551.127 of the Government Code. That section carries detailed safeguards: the notice must list both the location where the quorum will be present and every other location where a participating member will be, every location must be open to the public, each participant must be visible and audible to the others throughout the meeting and to the public during open portions, and the meeting must be recessed if the audio or video quality drops below the standards set by the Department of Information Resources.

Telephone is treated differently from videoconference. The Act does not authorize a board to conduct its regular meetings by telephone, and it does not let a board member participate in a regular meeting by telephone. The only telephone option, under section 551.121, is for a special called meeting where immediate action is required and convening a quorum at one location is difficult or impossible. Because the law had not changed since DM-478 and that opinion correctly stated the law when issued, the Attorney General found no basis to alter its conclusions and affirmed it.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2000. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Background and statutory framework

The Open Meetings Act is chapter 551 of the Government Code. The opinion explained that before the Legislature added specific provisions on remote participation (sections 551.121 through 551.127), the Act did not permit a governmental body to meet by telephone or videoconference, and did not let a member participate from a remote location, a point earlier opinions JM-584 (1986) and DM-207 (1993) had made. So a member may participate remotely only when the Act expressly allows it.

Two provisions framed the answer. Section 551.121 lets a higher-education governing board hold a meeting by telephone conference call only if the meeting is a special called meeting, immediate action is required, and convening a quorum at one location is difficult or impossible. A parallel authorization for all governmental bodies appears in section 551.125. Neither lets a board hold a regular meeting by telephone or lets a member join a regular meeting by phone.

Section 551.127 governs videoconference meetings. It permits a meeting by videoconference call only if a quorum is physically present at one location. On top of the Act's usual notice rules, the notice must specify the location where the quorum will be present and the intent to have a quorum there, plus every other location where a participating member will be physically present, and each location must be open to the public during the open portions. The section's further requirements are built to keep members audible and visible to each other and to the audience: each open portion must be visible and audible to the public at each noticed location, each location must have two-way communication with every other location for the entire meeting, and each speaking participant must be clearly visible and audible to the others and to the public. The Department of Information Resources sets minimum audio and video standards, and if technical problems drop the signal below those standards the body must recess or adjourn, as Opinion DM-480 (1998) had noted. The opinion also flagged a renumbering: the provision enacted in 1997 as section 551.126 (the one DM-478 addressed) became section 551.127 in 1999.

Common questions

Can regents who can't attend in person join a regular board meeting by phone?
No. The opinion concluded the Open Meetings Act does not allow a board member to participate in a regular meeting by telephone.

Is there any way for absent members to join a regular meeting remotely?
Yes, by videoconference, if a quorum is physically present at one location and the board meets all the requirements of section 551.127, including the notice, two-way audio and video, and public-access rules.

When is a telephone conference call allowed at all?
Only for a special called meeting where immediate action is required and it is difficult or impossible to convene a quorum at one location, under section 551.121.

What has to be in the notice for a videoconference meeting?
The notice must identify the location where a quorum will be physically present, state the intent to have a quorum there, and list every other location where a participating member will be present, with all locations open to the public during open portions.

Did this opinion change the earlier ruling in DM-478?
No. The opinion found DM-478 correctly stated the law and had not been superseded by statute or court decision, so it declined to overrule or modify it.

Citations

Statutes: Tex. Gov't Code Ann. ch. 551 and §§ 551.121-551.127 (Vernon 1994 & Supp. 2000), including § 551.121 (Vernon 1994), § 551.125 (Vernon Supp. 2000), and § 551.127(b), (d), (e), (g), and (h) (Vernon Supp. 2000). The opinion also relied on prior Attorney General Opinions DM-478 (1998), DM-480 (1998), JM-584 (1986), and DM-207 (1993).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/john-cornyn/jc-0194
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2000/jc0194.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

March 9, 2000

Mr. Charles E. McMahen
Chair, University of Houston System Board of Regents
3100 Cullen Boulevard, Suite 205
Houston, Texas 77204-6732

Opinion No. JC-0194

Re: Whether the governing board of an institution of higher education may conduct a meeting by telephone or videoconference call: Reconsideration of Attorney General Opinion DM-478 (1998) (RQ-0129-JC)

Dear Mr. McMahen:

You ask whether the governing board of an institution of higher education may hold a regular meeting of the board where a quorum of board members is present at the meeting location, and other members attend via a telephone or videoconferencing connection. In connection with this question, you ask us to reconsider Texas Attorney General Opinion DM-478 (1998). We conclude that the governing board of an institution of higher education may not hold a regular meeting with board members participating from remote locations except as expressly authorized by the Open Meetings Act. A governmental body may hold a regular meeting where a quorum is present at one location and other board members participate by videoconference call if it complies with section 551.127 of the Government Code. The Open Meetings Act does not authorize the board to conduct its regular meetings by telephone nor does it allow a board member to participate in a regular meeting by telephone. Attorney General Opinion DM-478 correctly stated the law when issued and has not been superceded by statute or court decision. Accordingly, we find no basis for altering its conclusions.

You state that the Board of Regents of the University of Houston System would like to hold regular meetings at which a quorum is present but some members are unable to attend in person. Letter from Mr. Charles E. McMahen, Chair, University of Houston System Board of Regents, to Honorable John Cornyn, Texas Attorney General (Oct. 8, 1999). The absent members would be able to participate via telephone from a remote location. Id. You ask whether a governing board may hold regular meetings with a quorum physically present, and have board members participate in the meeting by means of telephonic connections which are audible to the public. In connection with this question, you ask us to reconsider Attorney General Opinion DM-478, which concluded that the governing body of an institution of higher education was not authorized to conduct a regular meeting by telephone conference call. Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. DM-478 (1998) at 4.

The Open Meetings Act (the "Act"), TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. ch. 551 (Vernon 1994 & Supp. 2000), includes several provisions that authorize members of a governmental body to participate in meetings using telephone or videoconference connections. See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. §§ 551.121-551.127 (Vernon 1994 & Supp. 2000). Before these provisions were adopted, the Act did not permit governmental bodies to meet by telephone or videoconference call, nor did it authorize any board member to participate from a remote location using telephonic or videoconference connections. Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. JM-584 (1986); see also Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. DM-207 (1993) (in absence of specific legislative authorization, a governmental body may not permit a member to participate in a meeting via live video transmission). A member of a governmental body subject to the Act may participate in a meeting from a remote location only as expressly authorized by the Act.

You cite two provisions of the Open Meetings Act as relevant to your question. Section 551.121 of the Government Code allows the governing board of an institution of higher education to hold a meeting by telephone conference call if

(1) the meeting is a special called meeting and immediate action is required, and

(2) the convening at one location of a quorum of the governing board is difficult or impossible.

TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 551.121 (Vernon 1994); see also id. § 551.125 (Vernon Supp. 2000) (similar authorization for all governmental bodies). This provision applies only when immediate action is required and it is difficult or impossible to convene a quorum at one location. It does not authorize the board to conduct a regular meeting by telephone, or allow a board member to participate in a regular meeting by telephone.

Section 551.127 of the Government Code[1] allows a governmental body to hold a meeting by videoconference call "only if a quorum of the governmental body is physically present at one location of the meeting." Id. § 551.127(b) (Vernon Supp. 2000). In addition to the usual notice requirements set out in subchapter C of the Act, meetings held by videoconference call are subject to the following notice requirements:

The notice of a meeting to be held by videoconference call must specify as a location of the meeting the location where a quorum of the governmental body will be physically present and specify the intent to have a quorum present at that location. In addition, the notice of the meeting must specify as a location of the meeting each other location where a member of the governmental body who will participate in the meeting will be physically present during the meeting. Each of the locations shall be open to the public during the open portions of the meeting.

Id. § 551.127(d).

Additional detailed requirements in section 551.127 are designed to ensure that board members are audible and visible to one another and to members of the audience. Each open portion of a meeting held by videoconference call must be visible and audible to the public at each location specified in the notice, id. § 551.127(e), and each location must have two-way communication with each other location during the entire meeting. Id. § 551.127(g). Each participant in the videoconference call, while speaking, must be clearly visible and audible to each other participant, and, during the open portion of the meeting, to the members of the public in attendance at the location of the meeting. The Department of Information Resources is required to adopt rules specifying minimum standards for audio and video signals at the meeting, id. § 551.127(h), and if technical difficulties cause the quality of the audio or video signal to fall below those standards, the governmental body must recess or adjourn the meeting. See Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. DM-480 (1998) at 2-3.

Section 551.127 of the Government Code clearly requires that all participants in a videoconference under its provisions be able to see as well as hear one another throughout the meeting and, during open portions of the meeting, to be seen and heard by members of the public. The Open Meetings Act does not authorize the board of an institution of higher education to conduct its regular meetings by telephone nor does it allow a board member to participate in a regular meeting by telephone. Accordingly, the governing board of an institution of higher education may not hold a regular meetings where a quorum is physically present and board members participate in the meeting from remote locations by means of telephonic connections which are audible to the public. We decline to overrule or modify Attorney General Opinion DM-478.

SUMMARY

No governmental body subject to the Open Meetings Act may hold a meeting by telephone or videoconference except as expressly authorized by the Act. The governing board of an institution of higher education may hold a regular meeting where a quorum is present at one location and other members participate by videoconference call if the board complies with the provision of Government Code section 551.127. The governing board of an institution of higher education may hold a meeting by telephone conference call pursuant to section 551.121 of the Government Code only when immediate action is required and it is difficult or impossible to convene a quorum at one location. The Open Meetings Act does not authorize the board of an institution of higher education to conduct its regular meetings by telephone, nor does it allow a board member to participate in a regular meeting by telephone. Attorney General Opinion DM-478 (1998) is affirmed.

Very truly yours,

JOHN CORNYN
Attorney General of Texas

ANDY TAYLOR
First Assistant Attorney General

CLARK KENT ERVIN
Deputy Attorney General - General Counsel

ELIZABETH ROBINSON
Chair, Opinion Committee

Susan L. Garrison
Assistant Attorney General - Opinion Committee

[1] This provision was enacted in 1997 as section 551.126 of the Government Code and renumbered as section 551.127 of the Government Code in 1999. See Act of May 30, 1997, 75th Leg., R.S., ch. 1038, § 2, 1999 Tex. Gen. Laws 3896-97, renumbered by Act of Apr. 23, 1999, 76th Leg. R.S., ch. 62, § 19.01(50), 1999 Tex. Gen. Laws 127, 414. Thus, the Government Code section 551.126 addressed in Attorney General Opinion DM-478 (1998) is now section 551.127.