Statement by The Texas A&M University System Office of General Counsel Regarding the Board of Regent’s Compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act
September 5, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — An article published Sept. 5 in The Bryan Eagle questions whether the Texas Open Meetings Act was followed during an executive session at the May 2009 regular meeting of The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. The allegation is without merit and is based on observations from attorneys specifically selected by the paper to be interviewed for the story. In the past two weeks, the paper has denied numerous requests to allow the system’s General Counsel to discuss with those attorneys, in the presence of a reporter, the facts and law regarding the meeting so that the truth could be explored more directly and accurately. Among other errors that might have been remedied by more open research is the paper’s incorrect assertion that a $16 million loan to the athletic department was “not publicly known” prior to the board session. In fact, the loan was public information in 2006, when then-President Robert Gates reported it to the regents.
The paper agreed to post on its website a detailed statement from the Office of General Counsel responding to the story. That statement is also posted here for open access by media and the public:
