Public, media, staff barred from Texas Senate committee meeting

2015-03-05T21:49:23-06:00

By Mike Ward Houston Chronicle Originally published March 4, 2015 AUSTIN – When the Senate Education Committee convened on the Senate floor Wednesday, just minutes after the day's session recessed, senators quickly discussed and passed a bill doing something about high school graduations. Even though the meeting involved public business, their discussions were not. The reason: A new Senate rule, sergeants-at-arms insisted as they ordered staff and reporters to outside of a brass rail several feet away where the proceedings were mostly inaudible. Even though the meeting officially was listed as a "public hearing." Afterward, Committee Chairman Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, said he [...]