Planning commission adopts revised rules of procedure after small edits and legal review

The Austin Planning Commission on Feb. 18 approved revisions to its draft rules of procedure in a unanimous vote. The changes include clarifying that meeting participants must be recognized by the chair before speaking and asking city legal to review language that restricts "disparaging" comments to ensure compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act.

Vice Chair Betsy Greenberg and Commissioner Ryan Puzicki sponsored the item; commissioners were provided both redlined and clean copies of the proposed rules. During discussion, Vice Chair Greenberg asked that the section barring "disparaging or abusing language" be reconsidered because state law allows speakers to offer criticism and the term "disparaging" could chill protected comments. She suggested narrowing the language to prohibit abusive language and to make clear that speakers must wait to be recognized by the chair.

"Maybe we should remove the disparaging language," Vice Chair Betsy Greenberg said during the discussion, and she asked legal to advise on precise wording. Other commissioners agreed that the rules should be clear that no person may speak until recognized by the chair and that "abusive language" is an appropriate restriction to retain.

Commissioners voted to approve the rules with those comments and to refer the specific wording question to the City's legal division for clarification. The motion passed unanimously; one commissioner briefly appeared to lose connection during the roll call but later registered a vote, and the chair announced the revision was "unanimously approved."

The commission noted the revisions were intended in part to address prior concerns about compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act and to provide clearer conduct guidance during public meetings. The revised rules will be published and applied to future commission meetings pending any further legal edits requested by city counsel.