Category Archives: Local Governmental Entities
Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates
In November of 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule which was effectively a nation-wide COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. The mandate is applicable to the vast majority of Medicare and Medicaid certified providers and their employees. This interim final rule was immediately challenged by a… Read More »
Municipal Donations: Practices and Pitfalls
Texas Cities, both general law and home rule, have certain restrictions placed on them by the Texas Constitution when donating money or making investments into private companies (Tex Const, Art 11, Sec 3). The Constitution likewise prohibits the State from compelling investment or donation in the same manner. (Tex. Const. Art. 3, Sec 52). … Read More »
Municipal Building Code Updates
Have you considered adopting or amending your city’s Building Codes lately? If not, now may be the time. In 2021, the legislature passed revisions to Local Government Code §214.212 and §214.216 which updated the requirements for adopting and amending the International Residential and Building Codes. Local Government Code §214.212 now adopts the 2012 International… Read More »
Ferae Naturae: What Can I Do about Wild Animals on My Land?
As confirmed by the 2020 U.S. Census, many areas in the State of Texas are rapidly growing in population. Due to this growth, a significant amount of development is occurring on property that has previously been vacant—except for wildlife. Unfortunately, this sometimes causes interaction between the residents of newer subdivisions and wild animals, some… Read More »
Videoconferencing Standards for the Texas Open Meetings Act
An interesting provision of the Texas Open Meetings Act, TOMA, and the focus of this blog, is the use of videoconference technology to allow both members of the governmental body and the public to attend meetings by videoconference call. This is allowed even if there is no emergency causing the use of the videoconference… Read More »
Texas Municipal Courts
The Texas Constitution Art. V. Section 1 states; “the legislature may establish such other courts as it may deem necessary and prescribe the jurisdiction and organization thereof. . .” . The “other” courts (meaning those that are not Justice of the Peace, District or County Courts) are municipal courts. Municipal courts share jurisdiction with… Read More »
Texas Legislature Flips from Opt-in to Opt-Out Confidentiality for Certain Public Officials
Certain recent events occurring across the national, state, and local political landscapes—including the COVID-19 pandemic and related mask and vaccine mandates, election integrity, bail bond reform, and critical race theory, just to name a few—have increased the incidents of doxing public officials and subsequent protests or demonstrations being held at their private properties. For… Read More »
Unsworn Declarations in Texas
There are many instances under the law where an individual is required to swear to the accuracy of a statement or document. The iteration of this which most people are familiar with is the oath a witness takes in court before testifying. In court rooms in movies and tv shows, you frequently hear something… Read More »
New Purchasing Requirements on Public Works Projects
With the new legislative session, several changes in the area of public works stand to impact how cities in Texas implement payments for public works projects in the state. A few of the provisions which will impact public works projects going forward are described below. Under a public works contract, often the municipality will… Read More »
Let’s Talk about Animal Paw-licies!
Pet ownership has been on the rise lately, with up to 67% of households owning a pet, according to a national survey conducted by the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2018. In Texas, the statistics are slightly lower, with 58.2% owning a pet, the majority being dogs and cats. Though pet ownership may be… Read More »