The Louisiana Open Meetings law has several provisions.
One of the most important is the requirement of 24 hours written notice of any meeting of a public body.
The new Shreveport city council had a special noon meeting on Sat. Dec. 31 after they had been sworn into office earlier that morning.
The "new" council members are James Green, Tabatha Taylor, Alan Jackson, Grayson Boucher who served on the outgoing council and true newbies Gary Brooks, Jim Taliaferro, and Ursula Bowman.
The purpose of the meeting was to elect a chair and vice chair for the 2023 year. Green and Taylor were selected.
After the meeting was adjourned it was discovered that the votes had been miscounted and/or misstated into the record.
To "resolve" this issue, chairman Green called the council back into session for another meeting.
But NO notice to the public was given for the second meeting as required by the Open Meetings Law.
Thus, the second meeting violated the statute and any action taken was null and void.
John came to Shreveport in January of 1977 when he was transferred to Barksdale AFB.
He’s been active in Shreveport politics since deciding to make Shreveport his home.
John practiced law for 40 years and he now monitors local politics. He regularly attends Shreveport City Council and Caddo Parish Commission meetings.
John is published weekly in The Inquisitor, bi-monthly in The Forum News, and frequently in the Shreveport Times.
He enjoys addressing civic groups on local government issues and elections.