Sec. 209.0051. OPEN BOARD MEETINGS

(a) This section does not apply to a property owners' association that is subject to Chapter 551, Government Code, by application of Section 551.0015, Government Code.

(b) In this section:

(1) "Board meeting":

(A) means a deliberation between a quorum of the voting board of the property owners' association, or between a quorum of the voting board and another person, during which property owners' association business is considered and the board takes formal action; and

(B) does not include the gathering of a quorum of the board at a social function unrelated to the business of the association or the attendance by a quorum of the board at a regional, state, or national convention, ceremonial event, or press conference, if formal action is not taken and any discussion of association business is incidental to the social function, convention, ceremonial event, or press conference.

(2) "Development period" means a period stated in a declaration during which a declarant reserves:

(A) a right to facilitate the development, construction, and marketing of the subdivision; and

(B) a right to direct the size, shape, and composition of the subdivision.

(c) Regular and special board meetings must be open to owners, subject to the right of the board to adjourn a board meeting and reconvene in closed executive session to consider actions involving personnel, pending or threatened litigation, contract negotiations, enforcement actions, confidential communications with the property owners' association's attorney, matters involving the invasion of privacy of individual owners, or matters that are to remain confidential by request of the affected parties and agreement of the board. Following an executive session, any decision made in the executive session must be summarized orally and placed in the minutes, in general terms, without breaching the privacy of individual owners, violating any privilege, or disclosing information that was to remain confidential at the request of the affected parties. The oral summary must include a general explanation of expenditures approved in executive session.

(c-1) Except for a meeting held by electronic or telephonic means under Subsection (h), a board meeting must be held in a county in which all or part of the property in the subdivision is located or in a county adjacent to that county.

(d) The board shall keep a record of each regular or special board meeting in the form of written minutes of the meeting. The board shall make meeting records, including approved minutes, available to a member for inspection and copying on the member's written request to the property owners' association's managing agent at the address appearing on the most recently filed management certificate or, if there is not a managing agent, to the board.

(e) Members shall be given notice of the date, hour, place, and general subject of a regular or special board meeting, including a general description of any matter to be brought up for deliberation in executive session. The notice shall be:

(1) mailed to each property owner not later than the 10th day or earlier than the 60th day before the date of the meeting; or

(2) provided at least 72 hours before the start of the meeting by:

(A) posting the notice in a conspicuous manner reasonably designed to provide notice to property owners' association members:

(i) in a place located on the association's common property or, with the property owner's consent, on other conspicuously located privately owned property within the subdivision; or

(ii) on any Internet website maintained by the association or other Internet media; and

(B) sending the notice by e-mail to each owner who has registered an e-mail address with the association.

(f) It is an owner's duty to keep an updated e-mail address registered with the property owners' association under Subsection (e)(2)(B).

(g) If the board recesses a regular or special board meeting to continue the following regular business day, the board is not required to post notice of the continued meeting if the recess is taken in good faith and not to circumvent this section. If a regular or special board meeting is continued to the following regular business day, and on that following day the board continues the meeting to another day, the board shall give notice of the continuation in at least one manner prescribed by Subsection (e)(2)(A) within two hours after adjourning the meeting being continued.

(h) A board may meet by any method of communication, including electronic and telephonic, without prior notice to owners under Subsection (e), if each director may hear and be heard by every other director, or the board may take action by unanimous written consent to consider routine and administrative matters or a reasonably unforeseen emergency or urgent necessity that requires immediate board action. Any action taken without notice to owners under Subsection (e) must be summarized orally, including an explanation of any known actual or estimated expenditures approved at the meeting, and documented in the minutes of the next regular or special board meeting. The board may not, without prior notice to owners under Subsection (e), consider or vote on:

(1) fines;

(2) damage assessments;

(3) initiation of foreclosure actions;

(4) initiation of enforcement actions, excluding temporary restraining orders or violations involving a threat to health or safety;

(5) increases in assessments;

(6) levying of special assessments;

(7) appeals from a denial of architectural control approval; or

(8) a suspension of a right of a particular owner before the owner has an opportunity to attend a board meeting to present the owner's position, including any defense, on the issue.

(i) This section applies to a meeting of a property owners' association board during the development period only if the meeting is conducted for the purpose of:

(1) adopting or amending the governing documents, including declarations, bylaws, rules, and regulations of the association;

(2) increasing the amount of regular assessments of the association or adopting or increasing a special assessment;

(3) electing non-developer board members of the association or establishing a process by which those members are elected; or

(4) changing the voting rights of members of the association.

Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1026 , Sec. 3, eff. January 1, 2012.