After a series of contentious meetings, Tarrant County commissioners are set to consider new rules about when to expel or ban people.
The proposed policy is on for commissioners鈥� 10 a.m. Tuesday meeting. Tensions among members of the public, commissioners and sheriff鈥檚 deputies escalated at the commissioners court meeting on Jan. 14, when two people were sent to jail, and another was detained in handcuffs.
The decorum policy has been in the court's plans since last year. Republican County Judge Tim O鈥橦are enforces meeting rules, and he announced in July he and his colleagues would discuss those rules.
That move came after a 四虎影院 story examined why O鈥橦are was throwing people out of meetings and the uneven punishments they received. One of the court鈥檚 most frequent speakers went eight seconds over his allotted three-minute speaking time and received a year-long ban. He has since been allowed back in.
The new policy proposal would limit when people can sign up to speak and specifies when speaking times can be shortened. It also lays out the circumstances that can get people banned from meetings.
鈥淭he intent of these rules is to ensure the safety of the public, the staff, and members of the Court, and to maximize citizen participation, efficiently receive public input, and maintain respectful decorum during each meeting,鈥� the proposed policy states.
Current rules allow people to sign up to speak until the commissioners court meeting start time of 10 a.m., according to the county website. The new policy would eliminate morning sign-ups and require people to submit their public comment forms by 5 p.m. the day before a meeting.
The proposal would also allow the county judge to limit the three-minute speaking time in case a large group of speakers addresses a certain topic. For example, if 20 people signed up for one agenda item, O鈥橦are could limit their time to two minutes. If 40 people sign up, speakers could get one minute.
鈥淚n making such adjustments to speaker time limits, the County Judge shall act in a reasonable and non-discriminatory manner,鈥� the proposed policy states. 鈥淚f an adjustment is made to speaker time limits, such adjustment shall be applied equally to all speakers on a particular topic regardless of the position taken by the speaker on the topic.鈥�
The county鈥檚 current rules, explained on the speaker sign-up sheet, allow the county judge to "impose time limits,鈥� but it doesn't get more specific than that.
If someone doesn鈥檛 follow the rules in the proposed policy, they could be kicked out or "temporarily鈥� banned from speaking in person at meetings. The policy does not specify how long that could be. They could also be .
The proposed policy also lays out when and how sheriff鈥檚 deputies, or bailiffs, can give someone a trespass warning 鈥� which bans them from the administration building in downtown Fort Worth where commissioners court meetings are held.
Bailiffs could give someone a trespass warning if they have caused 鈥渁 continuing series of disruptions鈥� at a single meeting or over several meetings, and if less restrictive punishments haven鈥檛 worked. They can also issue a warning if someone causes such a big disturbance 鈥渢hat less restrictive means of correcting the disruption would be futile.鈥�
Under current practice, it鈥檚 up to the bailiffs to decide when to give someone a criminal trespass warning, a sheriff鈥檚 office spokesperson explained last summer.
The proposed policy would limit any trespass warning bans to 180 days. It also allows people to appeal their warning to the county鈥檚 .
The policy proposal doesn鈥檛 explain why the board, which hears permit denial appeals from businesses like strip clubs and adult bookstores, would oversee trespass warning appeals.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org.
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