The Woodlands Edition | August 2025

Government

BY ANGELA BONILLA & NICHAELA SHAHEEN

Starting Sept. 1, a new state law will change how and when cities and counties must post public notices for meetings. House Bill 1522 changes the previous 72- hour notice requirement to three business days, meaning weekends and holidays no longer count toward the minimum posting period. The new law is intended to give residents more time to review meeting agendas and participate in local government decisions, according to the bill analysis. In preparation for HB 1522’s implementation, some local government entities in the area have shifted their meeting schedules. The Woodlands Township and Montgomery County Commissioners Court have changed their meeting dates to make it easier to comply with the law. Public notice rules set to change Sept. 1 HB 1522 requirements Notice of a meeting of a governmental body must: Be readily accessible to the general public at all times for at least three business days before the scheduled date Meetings including budget discussion or adoption must also include:

What they’re saying

government transparency and citizen participa- tion, the bill author has informed the committee that the language of the current law can be used to the advantage of a local government whereby the intended transparency is infringed upon,” Gerdes stated in the bill analysis. The city of Oak Ridge North will continue to hold City Council meetings on the second and fourth Mondays of the month, but public meeting notices will be sent out Wednesdays to comply with the law, according to discussion at the Aug. 11 meeting. The city of Shenandoah is now posting its notices on Thursdays, in advance of City Council meetings that will continue to be held the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, City Administrator Kathie Reyer said.

Montgomery County ocials discussed how they will update policy to comply with the law during the July 15 commissioners court meeting. “This law goes into eect Sept. 1. Rather than changing for the rest of the year, we’ll just change our agenda process for the rest of the year, which will be a little bit of a pain for sta, and I apologize to sta,” Ritch Wheeler, Montgomery County Commissioner Precinct 3, said. “We can manage that for three or four months.” Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, RBrenham, sponsored the bill, which was authored by Rep. Stan Gerdes, RSmithville. The stated goal of the bill is to allow for more transparency and accessibility for citizen participation; however, it is also to ensure fairness, according to the bill analysis. “While [the original law] is meant to provide for

What’s next

The change will apply to local government entities across Texas, including cities, counties and school districts. The Woodlands Township will now meet on the third and fourth Thursday of the month instead of the fourth Wednesday and the Thursday prior, beginning Sept. 1. Meanwhile, members of the Montgomery County Commissioners Court decided to change its meeting dates from Tuesdays to Thursdays starting in January.

New meeting dates in The Woodlands Township The new dates for the meetings this year are:

• Sept. 18 • Sept. 25 • Oct. 16 • Oct. 23

• Nov. 14 at 4 p.m. (special meeting

and election canvassing)

• Nov. 20 • Dec. 4

A physical copy of the budget A taxpayer impact statement

SOURCE: THE WOODLANDS TOWNSHIPCOMMUNITY IMPACT

SOURCE: TEXAS LEGISLATURECOMMUNITY IMPACT

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