When it comes to municipalities, not everyone understands the difference between a town or area being incorporated or unincorporated. So, what's the difference? The three types of general law municipalities Towns (larger than villages and smaller than cities) are...
Texas Municipal Law Blog
How COVID-19 has affected city planning
After nearly two years we have become all too familiar with the impact of the pandemic on our families, workplaces, worship communities and social lives. But what changes will cities make to how they use and designate space now that the world has experienced a...
Does the 3-minute rule violate First Amendment rights?
Recently community members and activists in Texas and in other states such as California have questioned whether the three-minute rule at public hearings is a violation of their First Amendment right. Currently residents are allowed to voice their concerns and...
Can I give a job to my relative in Texas?
Hiring a relative can seem like a simple way to ensure you work with someone you know and trust. However, there are limits on giving a job to your relatives, or nepotism, in Texas. If you work for certain government entities or are an elected official, know that there...
Texas county and city at odds over prisoner housing costs
If you drive 85 miles east of Houston, you’ll find yourself in the City of Beaumont, the seat of Jefferson County. The city and the county are in a long-running feud over the fees charged by the county to house prisoners. Dispute headed to court Five years ago,...
Employment discrimination claims hit Texas governmental entities
Age discrimination. Race discrimination. Sex discrimination. Former employees have filed lawsuits against Texas businesses in recent years, alleging that they’ve been unlawfully subjected to various types of employment discrimination based on age, race, gender,...
Unruly school board meetings rock Central Texas
School board meetings used to be known for meetings as long and dry as a summer in the West Texas region of Trans-Pecos. Instead, some school board meetings lately are as filled with thunder and lightning as an Upper Coast rainy season. The cause of the fireworks:...
Big legal win for small tribe over Texas
The population of Texas is nearly 30 million, while the population of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas is about 500. When David topples Goliath, even if it’s in a federal courtroom, it makes news. The small tribe recently prevailed over the second most populous...
Texas city in legal battle over funding for new city hall
Amarillo has been mentioned in songs by a wide range of musical artists, including Nat King Cole and Bob Dylan, and by George Strait, Jason Aldean and Neil Sedaka, among others. It seems unlikely that an ongoing Amarillo legal battle will ever be the subject of song,...
Texas county planning today to avoid tomorrow’s floods
It’s about a 50-mile drive northeast to get from downtown Houston to Liberty County. Like many other Texas areas battered four years ago by Hurricane Harvey, Liberty County is working on improvements that will prepare it for any extreme weather tomorrow might bring....
