The committee’s meetings generally follow the open meetings law, but meetings or parts of meetings about an individual child’s death can be closed, and certain identifying or agency-involvement information may not be disclosed in public.
Sec. 264.504. MEETINGS OF COMMITTEE. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b), (c), and (d), meetings of the committee are subject to the open meetings law, Chapter 551, Government Code, as if the committee were a governmental body under that chapter. (b) Any portion of a meeting of the committee during which the committee discusses an individual child's death is closed to the public and is not subject to the open meetings law, Chapter 551, Government Code. (c) Information identifying a deceased child, a member of the child's family, a guardian or caretaker of the child, or an alleged or suspected perpetrator of abuse or neglect of the child may not be disclosed during a public meeting. On a majority vote of the committee members, the members shall remove from the committee any member who discloses information described by this subsection in a public meeting. (d) Information regarding the involvement of a state or local agency with the deceased child or another person described by Subsection (c) may not be disclosed during a public meeting. (e) The committee may conduct an open or closed meeting by telephone conference call or other electronic medium. A meeting held under this subsection is subject to the notice requirements applicable to other meetings. The notice of the meeting must specify as the location of the meeting the location where meetings of the committee are usually held. Each part of the meeting by telephone conference call that is required to be open to the public shall be audible to the public at the location specified in the notice of the meeting as the location of the meeting and shall be tape-recorded. The tape recording shall be made available to the public. (f) This section does not prohibit the committee from requesting the attendance at a closed meeting of a person who is not a member of the committee and who has information regarding a deceased child. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 255, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 878, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended by: Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 268 (S.B. 6), Sec. 1.58, eff. September 1, 2005.