How to Cover a City Council Meeting: Open Meetings Law

A city council meeting is a public event you can cover with a notebook, a phone, and a plan. This guide uses Texas as its main example. It also shows where other states differ. It is general information, not legal advice.

What does "open to the public" mean?

In Texas, every regular, special, or called meeting of a governmental body must be open to the public, unless the Open Meetings Act says otherwise ^[1]. The law's definition of a governmental body includes a municipal governing body, which covers a city council ^[1].

"Open" has a narrow meaning. It means the public is permitted to attend ^[2]. That is separate from any right to speak ^[2].

The Texas Attorney General's handbook says the Act's provisions are mandatory and are to be liberally construed in favor of open government ^[2]. Below is a training video on the Act from the Texas Attorney General's channel.

Video from Texas Attorney General (official channel). Open at youtube.com. Content from youtube.com loads only if you click.

Which law applies where you live?

Open meetings rules differ by state, so start by finding your own state's statute ^[3]. Here is how four states treat recording:

• Texas: a person in attendance may record all or any part of an open meeting ^[1].
• California: any person attending an open meeting of a local agency's legislative body has the right to record ^[4].
• Colorado: according to the Reporters Committee, whether a meeting may be recorded or broadcast is generally left to the public body's discretion ^[3].
• South Carolina: the Reporters Committee says recording is allowed without active interference, except that executive sessions may not be recorded ^[3].

If your state is not on that list, check your state's law. The Reporters Committee's state-by-state open government guide is a good place to start ^[3].

For Texas, the Attorney General's open meetings handbook explains the Act ^[2].

How do you prepare before the meeting?

Start with the notice. Texas law requires written notice of the date, hour, place, and subject of each meeting ^[1].

Under the general rule, the notice must be posted in a place readily accessible to the public for at least three business days before the meeting ^[1]. The statute lists exceptions to that timing ^[1].

Read every item. Note the time, the place, and the subject lines. Those are the details the law requires the notice to carry ^[1].

Below is an example city council notice. Check it for the date, hour, place, and subject that Texas law requires ^[1]. Texas requires a governmental body to give written notice of the date, hour, place, and subject of each meeting it holds ^[1].

Document · City of Memphis, Texas

Notice of October 13, 2026 Memphis City Council Regular Meeting

Open at memphistexas.gov

Document from City of Memphis, Texas. Open at memphistexas.gov. Content from memphistexas.gov loads only if you click.

Also look for any closed session language. Before a closed meeting, the presiding officer must announce it and name the section of the Act that authorizes it ^[2].

Can you record the meeting?

Texas law says a person in attendance may record all or any part of an open meeting. The statute names a recorder, a video camera, or another means of aural or visual reproduction ^[1].

The council may adopt reasonable rules to maintain order. The statute lists equipment location and manner of recording as examples ^[1]. But those rules may not prevent or unreasonably impair your right to record ^[1].

Other states set their own limits. In California, the right to record can be limited only if the body makes a reasonable finding that recording cannot continue without noise, illumination, or obstruction of view that would be a persistent disruption ^[4].

North Carolina's statute lets a public body require pooling of equipment and operating personnel in a narrow set of circumstances, such as a room too small for everyone ^[5].

Keep your gear small and stay out of sight lines. Obstruction of view is the kind of problem California's statute names ^[4]. If the body has a rule about where equipment goes, read it before you object ^[1].

Is public comment the same as attending?

No. Attending means you may be in the room. Speaking is a separate rule ^[2].

In Texas, section 551.007 gives the public a right to speak on agenda items. It applies to the bodies listed in subsections 551.001(3)(B) through (L), which the Attorney General's handbook says include most local governmental bodies ^[2].

As quoted in the handbook, the section says a covered body shall allow each member of the public who desires to address it about an agenda item to do so ^[2]. The body may also adopt reasonable rules, including time limits per item ^[2].

Check the agenda for the public comment item and any time limit. The example notice above shows one place that line can appear.

How do you cover the meeting on the night?

Work through these steps.

1. Bring the posted notice and a copy of the statute. Gabe Rottman of the Reporters Committee advises journalists to carry a copy of the open meetings law ^[6].
2. Arrive early and ask to be admitted. The Reporters Committee's Colorado guide says a person seeking access should attend and request admittance ^[7].
3. Choose a spot and set up your recorder or camera. Follow any posted rule on equipment location, since Texas lets a body adopt reasonable order rules ^[1].
4. Follow the agenda in order. The notice must state the subject of each meeting, so match what you hear to what was posted ^[1].
5. Note each vote. When the council goes into closed session, write down the time and the section the presiding officer names ^[2].
6. Stay orderly. The Reporters Committee's Colorado guide says unruly conduct only gives a public body grounds to exclude you ^[7].
7. Before you leave, ask how to request the minutes and the recording. In Texas, you make that request to the body's chief administrative officer or designee ^[1].

Your right to attend comes from the open meetings law, not from a membership card. In Texas, that law makes the meeting open to the public ^[1].

Still, staff or sources may ask who you report for. If that happens, you can see how a press credential can document your work. A National Press Association credential is not a government document, and it does not give you a legal right to enter a meeting.

What happens in a closed session?

A council may close a meeting only as the Act allows ^[1]. Before it does, the presiding officer must announce that a closed meeting will be held. The officer must also identify the section or sections of the Act that authorize it ^[2].

Write down that section number. It tells you which part of the Act the council relies on ^[2].

A final action, decision, or vote on a matter discussed in a closed meeting may only be made in an open meeting. That meeting must meet the Act's notice rules ^[2]. So wait for the council to return and watch for any vote.

A Texas body must also keep a certified agenda or a recording of each executive session. The exception is a private consultation with its attorney under section 551.071 ^[2].

Do not plan to record the closed part. Texas's recording right covers open meetings ^[1]. According to the Reporters Committee, South Carolina does not allow recording of executive session meetings ^[3].

Below is a video on executive sessions. Check your own state's law before you rely on any of it.

What if you are told to leave or stop recording?

Stay calm and keep it short. Here is what Rottman advises.

• Flag the law. If officials try to remove you, you can point out that the statute exists ^[6].
• Know the one firm line. Rottman says no official can exclude you because they dislike what you report ^[6].
• Do not resist. You can advocate politely, but if you could potentially be arrested, you should comply ^[6].
• Call your editor and your lawyer ^[6].

In Texas, a rule on recording may not prevent or unreasonably impair your right to record ^[1]. That is a point to raise politely, not a reason to argue with an officer.

If the meeting went wrong, there are remedies after the fact. Texas law lets an interested person, including a member of the news media, sue by mandamus or injunction to stop, prevent, or reverse a violation ^[1]. A lawyer can tell you whether that route fits your case.

After the meeting: get the record

In Texas, the minutes and recordings of an open meeting are public records. You can inspect and copy them on request to the body's chief administrative officer or designee ^[1].

Ask quickly. In California, a local agency's own recording of an open meeting may be erased or destroyed 30 days after the recording ^[4]. Check your state's law on how long records last.

Compare your notes and your own recording against the official minutes. Quote from the record you can show.

Limits, and when to get help

Every rule above has limits. Texas opens meetings "except as provided" by the Act ^[1]. States also differ on recording. Colorado leaves it to the public body, according to the Reporters Committee ^[3].

This guide does not cover every state or every exception. Check your state's law before you rely on it.

If you think a body broke the law, talk to a lawyer. The Texas Attorney General's handbook also lists an Open Government Hotline for anyone who wants to understand their rights and responsibilities under the Act. The toll-free number is 877-673-6839 ^[2].

If you want a professional home for your reporting, you can join the National Press Association.