Primary Department: County Administration
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Jesse Dickerman, Interim County Administrator
Secondary Department: County Attorney
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: Jonathan G. C. Fombonne, County Attorney
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Policy
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for approval of proposed changes to the Rules of Procedure, Conduct and Decorum at Meetings of the Commissioners Court of Harris County, Texas regarding the timing of Resolution items during Regular Meetings and the types of items permissible for request at Business Court Meetings.
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Background and Discussion:
The Rules of Procedure, Conduct and Decorum establish a set of rules for the governance of Commissioners Court meetings. On January 8, 2026, Commissioners Court approved the following motion:
“To move the Resolutions to 6:00 P.M. unless we finish earlier and to update rules as necessary.”
In addition, Commissioners Court requested that the County Attorney’s Office (CAO) and the Office of County Administration (OCA) review the list of items permissible for inclusion on a Business Court Agenda for possible additions.
The Rules of Procedure, Conduct and Decorum at Meetings of the Commissioners Court of Harris County, Texas has been updated to reflect the above motion, and suggestions for additional Business Court Meeting item types are included for consideration.
Expected Impact:
Updating the timing of Resolution items will improve the efficiency of Regular Court Meetings. Approving additions to the types of items that are permissible to include on a Business Court Agenda will improve vendor payment timelines by increasing the frequency with which payments on those types of items can be processed internally.
Alternative Options:
Court could choose to allow Resolutions to revert to a 4:00pm start time and to allow the Business Court Meeting item list to remain unchanged.
County Strategic Plan Goal: N/A
County Strategic Plan Objective: N/A
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): N/A
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): N/A
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan: While the cadence of Commissioners Court meetings is not contemplated specifically by the County Strategic Plan, Commissioners Court meetings impact all County Strategic Plan goals, objectives, and initiatives since meetings include approvals for those projects.
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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01/08/2026 |
2 |
2026 Commissioners Court calendar updated and associated motions |
Location:
Address (if applicable): N/A
Precinct(s): Countywide
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County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
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CAO Reviewer Name and Title |
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CAO Review Completion Date |
Click or tap to enter a date. |
Anticipated Court Date: 2/12/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department:
Jesse Dickerman, Interim County Administrator
Lucinda Silva, Director of Operations, OCA
Traci Buttram, Manager of Operations, OCA
Nicholas Santulli, Assistant County Attorney, CAO
Attachments (if applicable):
The Rules of Procedure, Conduct and Decorum at Meetings of the Commissioners Court of Harris County, Texas