Open Records Decision No. 317
July 5, 1982

	Re:  Availability under the Open Records Act of names of members of advisory 
task forces appointed by mayor

Honorable Kathryn J. Whitmire
Mayor
City of Houston
P. O. Box 1562
Houston, Texas  77251

Dear Ms. Whitmire:

	You have requested our decision under the Open Records Act, article 6252-17a, 
V.T.C.S., as to the availability of the names of persons appointed to advisory task forces.

	You state that, subsequent to your election as mayor in November 1981, but prior 
to your inauguration on January 1, 1982, you adopted the suggestion of your campaign 
staff to establish task forces for the purpose of examining “the operational aspects of 
specific areas of the existing city governmental structure.”  All appointments to these 
task forces were made by a member of your voluntary campaign staff, and you have not 
participated in their work at any time.  You also state that “no city or public funds have 
been expended by these task forces,” and that “[d]irect city involvement has been limited 
to a small number of city employees who have provided information or liaison to these 
task forces.”  You contend that, as a result, the task forces do not constitute 
“governmental bodies,” and thus, the identity of their membership need not be disclosed.

	Section 2(1) of the Open Records Act defines “governmental body,” inter alia, as:

	(C)	every deliberative body having rulemaking or quasi-
judicial power and classified as a department, agency, or political 
subdivision of a county or city;

	. . . .

	(F)	the part, section, or portion of every organization, 
corporation, commission, committee, institution, or agency which is 
supported in whole or in part by public funds, or which expends 
public funds.  Public funds as used herein shall mean funds of the 
State of Texas or any governmental subdivision thereof.

Since the task forces at issue here were appointed by your agent prior to your 
inauguration as mayor, and since they apparently function totally outside the authority of 
city government, they may not, in our view, reasonably be “classified as a department, 
agency, or political subdivision of a . . . city.”

	Several decisions, however, have relied upon subdivision (1)(F) to support a 
conclusion that a particular entity was a “governmental body.”  In Open Records 
Decision No. 302 (1982), for example, we said that, because the Brazos County 
Industrial Foundation received an unrestricted grant of funds from the city of Bryan, it 
was “supported . . . in part by public funds” and thus, was a “governmental body” under 
the Open Records Act.  See also Open Records Decision Nos. 228 (1979); 201, 195 
(1978).  Likewise, a search advisory committee established to recommend candidates for 
president of Texas A & M University to the board of regents was held to constitute a 
governmental body under the act because, since its members were reimbursed for 
expenses, it expended public funds.  Thus, in order to be termed a governmental body, an 
entity which is not officially linked to a particular branch of government must expend, or 
be in part supported by, public funds.  So long as the task forces about which you inquire 
do not expend or are not supported by public funds, we must conclude that they do not 
meet the criteria for a “governmental body.”  Under the facts presented, these task forces 
are thus not subject to the Open Records Act, and the identity of their membership need 
not be disclosed.

	We caution, however, that even if the task forces are viewed as purely private 
entities, a list of their members would be subject to disclosure if such a list is held by you 
or any other agent of the city for official city purposes.  Since no such facts have been 
presented, we make no determination of this issue.

Very truly yours,

Mark White
Attorney General of Texas

John W. Fainter, Jr.
First Assistant Attorney General

Richard E. Gray III
Executive Assistant Attorney General

Prepared by Rick Gilpin
Assistant Attorney General

APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE

Susan L. Garrison, Chairman
Jon Bible
Rick Gilpin
Patricia Hinojosa
Jim Moellinger