City attorney briefs Farmers Branch board members on open meetings, records and conflicts rules

City Attorney Victor Flores told newly appointed and reappointed Farmers Branch board and commission members during orientation that the Texas Open Meetings Act requires public posting of meetings and restricts private deliberations by a quorum.

The guidance matters because board and commission members, while largely advisory, exercise public influence that must be exercised in public and in accordance with state law. Flores walked through posting timelines, executive-session limits, attorney-client privilege, disclosure of city-related communications on personal devices, and conflict-of-interest rules in the Local Government Code.

Flores said the Open Meetings Act defines a "meeting" as "a discussion or deliberation between a quorum" of members about public business and noted that a quorum on a seven-member body would be four…