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City attorney reviews recent cases and 2025 legislative changes affecting Dripping Springs
Summary
City Attorney Laura summarized recent municipal case law on takings, whistleblower limits, Open Meetings Act captioning and liability for events, and reviewed 2025 legislative changes including water funding, agenda-posting timelines, electronic notices and new PIA contact database.
City Attorney Laura briefed council on recent case law and legislative changes with potential implications for Dripping Springs.
On case law, she highlighted a decision affirming circumstances where city floodplain regulations could lead to takings claims and noted that cities may face liability when state agencies or transportation departments (TxDOT) remove property (such as trees) that constitute compensable takings. She described a whistleblower-related case in which a councilmember's actions did not qualify as public-employee whistleblowing because councilmembers are not "public employees" for that type of claim. Laura also reviewed Open Meetings Act guidance and cautioned that vague agenda captions can lead to procedural claims (damages are limited but attorney-fee exposure exists).
On the 2025 legislative session, Laura said the session produced more than 1,200 bills that passed and that a special session would reconvene July 21. Notable changes for the city included expanded water- and wastewater-funding opportunities through the Texas Water Development Board and the Texas Water Fund (subject to a constitutional amendment), new agenda-posting timing (3 business days instead of 72 hours) requiring adjustments to agenda-submission policies, permission to use online newspaper notices for legal postings, and an attorney-general-managed public-information-access (PIA) contact database. She also summarized changes affecting land use (higher written-protest thresholds for certain zoning changes), manufactured-home zoning definitions, limits on local permitting of some food-service activities, and higher civil-penalty caps for illegal signs placed in rights-of-way.
Laura said staff would review ordinances and codes and bring recommended updates to council so the city complies with new notice and posting requirements.
Next steps: staff and the city attorney's office will track bills that may return in the special session, update relevant city code and procedures, and work with department heads to implement required changes.
