Texas Open Meetings Act upheld

From MySanAntonio.com:

In a victory for open government, a federal court Tuesday ruled against a lawsuit filed by Texas municipal officials who have been fighting for six years to escape criminal penalties for holding public meetings behind closed doors.

A three-judge panel with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that criminal penalties in the state’s open meetings law do not violate the First Amendment rights of politicians, dismissing the argument made on behalf of 15 local government leaders from Sugar Land to Wichita Falls.