In response to Marshall News Messenger coverage, Harrison County Judge Richard Anderson said Thursday the Harrison County Airport Advisory Committee is not subject to open meeting laws.

He sought to "clarify certain issues regarding the Harrison County airport facility," specifically those in The Marshall News Messenger's Sunday editorial "Hoping for compromise on airport zoning" and its Thursday article "Airport board behind closed doors" in a memo sent to Publisher Phil Latham.

"I feel it is very important for your readers to understand the differences between the work and authority of the Airport Advisory Committee versus the Joint Airport Zoning Board," Anderson said.

He said the Harrison County Airport Advisory Committee, which was reorganized in 1983, serves as an "advisory committee only" for the Harrison County Commissioners' Court. After years of inactivity, it was reactivated in 2007 and "has been very helpful in making several suggestions for improvements at the airport," Anderson stated.

Anderson described the committee as having no legal power and serving "merely to make suggestions as to make recommendations regarding use of the facility.

"As an advisory committee only, it is not required to post notice of its meetings, nor is it subject to the Open Meetings Act," he said.

Bill Sullivan chairs the seven-member committee, which also includes volunteer members Doyle Curry, Billy Gee, Ken Carlile, Marty Wright, Gene Ponder and District Judge Ed Smith Jr., according to the memo.

Joint Airport

Zoning Board

The Joint Airport Zoning Board was created by local government statute. It has zoning power, specific government duties and is subject to the Open Meetings Act and Open Records Act, according to the memo.

The board was created May 8, 2008, by the Harrison County Commissioners Court, which appointed two members. The City of Marshall appointed two additional members. Those four members then appointed Smith Jr. as board chairman, Anderson states.

He further described the issues facing the two groups as "quite different." Anderson said the board is revising proposed regulations based on public comment received during an Oct. 28 public hearing.

The committee is preparing recommendations on rules and regulations for fixed base operators, which will be addressed by county commissioners in the next six weeks, the memo states.

Open Meetings Act

The following is a section of the Open Meetings Act as listed in "The 2008 Open Meetings Act Made Easy," which was made by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office. Under a header asking, "Must appointed committees post notice of their meetings under the act," it states, in part:

"If a committee appointed by the governing body is truly advisory in nature, the act generally does not require it to post public notice of its gatherings as open meetings. Accordingly, the local unit must first determine whether a committee is advisory or whether it has certain powers that would make it subject to the Act.

"To make this determination, the local unit needs to review the actual authority of the committee and how the committee's actions are treated by the governing body. For example, if the committee has the power to make final decisions or the power to adopt rules regarding public business, it would need to post its gatherings as open meetings.

"Additionally, if the committee issues recommendations that are usually approved in full by the governing body, such committee meetings should be posted as open meetings. In other words, a committee may not be considered 'advisory' if the governing body generally 'rubber-stamps' the committee's recommendation into final policy."