TOMA

By Chaya Tong Austin American-Statesman Originally published Nov. 12, 2025 The city of Austin late Wednesday opted to cancel a highly anticipated City Council budget work session after two attorneys alleged there had been a lack of adequate public notice for the meeting. The 11-member council had been set to convene Thursday to discuss what cuts to make to the budget a week after Austin voters rejected a controversial tax hike proposal known as Proposition Q. But on Wednesday, Austin lawyers Bill Aleshire and Rick Fine accused the city of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act by leaving out two key pieces of information government entities are now [...]

By Bill Aleshire Attorney On June 23, Judge Catherine Mauzy signed our summary judgment order (Les Carnes, Jim Camp, Cathy Ramsey, and Gabrielle Moore v. Hays County Judge & Commissioners, Cause No. D-1-GN-25-002049, 126th District Court, Travis County, Texas) granting our clients' election contest and killed the $439 million Hays County Road Bonds due to Open Meetings violations for inadequate meeting notice and unreasonable restriction on time for public testimony on a bond package election. The bond package would have doubled the county’s (and taxpayers’) outstanding indebtedness. It’s a huge win for enforcement of the Texas Open Meetings Act.  This case [...]