Tomball council signals approval to add social-media policy to boards-and-commissions handbook

City staff presented proposed revisions to Tomball's boards-and-commissions handbook on July 20 and asked council whether to add a new social-media and online conduct policy. The proposed policy would require board and commission members to acknowledge the handbook and the social-media policy before serving, forbid conducting board business through social-media threads or private group chats, prohibit sharing nonpublic documents online, and set enforcement mechanisms that could include removal from a board or commission for serious violations.

"One of the things that the social-media policy would look at in particular is official representation... that it's authorized by the board and commission in which they serve," staff said. The policy also contains guidance intended to avoid creating 'daisy chains' or inadvertent quorums that would run afoul of the Texas Open Meetings Act, and it outlines the need to redirect public-record requests through official channels rather than responding on personal social pages.

Council signaled support to proceed: members agreed staff should finalize a handbook revision and bring back a resolution formally adopting the handbook as policy for boards and commissions. Staff also flagged the separate question of whether elements should be incorporated into the city code of ethics (which would subject elected officials to the same enforcement mechanisms); council requested legal review of the implications for First Amendment protections before any codification.

Staff will produce a red-lined handbook and a recommended enforcement and acknowledgement process for council consideration at a future meeting.