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2021 Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. 1 (2021)

handle is hein.sag/sagtx0223 and id is 1 raw text is: IGN PAXTON ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS January 11, 2021 The Honorable Briscoe Cain Chair, House Select Committee on Driver's License Issuance & Renewal Texas House of Representatives Post Office Box 2910 Austin, Texas 78768-2910 Opinion No. KP-0347 Re: Public access to the Texas Capitol and whether members of the Legislature may vote on legislation from a location other than their respective chambers (RQ-0389-KP) Dear Representative Cain: You ask three questions regarding public access to the Texas Capitol during the legislative session and the authority for members of the Legislature to debate or vote on legislation from a location other than their respective chambers.1 You first ask whether the U.S. Constitution, the Texas Constitution, or Texas state law requires the Capitol be open to allow the citizens of Texas to petition their government, specifically in terms of public access to the Texas Capitol in order to testify during legislative committee hearings regarding the budget and proposed legislation. Request Letter at 1. The Texas Constitution provides: The sessions of each House shall be open, except the Senate when in Executive session. TEX. CONST. art. III, § 16. We find no Texas court decisions construing this provision.2 In construing the plain language of the text, however, a court would consider the common meaning of the term open, which dictionaries define as accessible or allowing access. NEW OXFORD AM. DICTIONARY 1227 (3d ed. 2010); see also Jaster v. Comet J Constr., Inc., 438 S.W.3d 556, 563 (Tex. 2014) (explaining that courts often look to dictionary definitions to determine a term's common ordinary meaning). The common understanding of the term session is a meeting of a deliberative or judicial body to conduct its business. NEW OXFORD AM. DICTIONARY 1597 (3d ed. 2010). Construing these terms together, the Texas Constitution requires that the meetings of both Houses of the Legislature shall be accessible to the public, except when the Senate is in executive session. TEX. CONST. art. III, § 16; see Acker v. Tex. Water Comm'n, 790 S.W.2d 299, 300 (Tex. 1990) (The executive and legislative decisions of our governmental officials as well as the underlying reasoning must be discussed openly before 'See Letter from Honorable Briscoe Cain, Chair, House Select Comm. on Driver's License Issuance & Renewal, to Honorable Ken Paxton, Tex. Att'y Gen. at 1-2 (Dec. 14, 2020), https://www2.texasattomeygeneral.gov/ opinions/opinions/5 lpaxton/rq/2020/pdf/RQ03 89KP.pdf (Request Letter). 2A district court referenced article 3, section 16 in the jury charge of a defamation case arising from statements made by legislators and then published in a newspaper. See A.H. Belo & Co. v. Wren, 63 Tex. 686, 714 (Tex. 1884). However, the Texas Supreme Court, in affirming that decision, did not construe or otherwise address the meaning of article 3, section 16. See id. at 720.

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