Tarrant County changes rules surrounding public comments in effort to encourage civility

Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare said Tuesday he was making changes to the rules surrounding public comment during commissioners meetings in an effort uphold decorum.

“Disagreement is part of politics. Disagreement is one of the freedoms that we have in this country,” O’Hare said at the start of the Commissioners Court meeting. “There has been a lack of civility in multiple places, nationally, locally, here in this courtroom, there are some changes that I’m going to make to how we do public comments.”

O’Hare said he will begin reading the courtroom decorum rules before public comment and will require speakers to sign a form agreeing to follow the rules.

The announcement comes after multiple public speakers have been ejected and banned from Commissioners Court meetings.

“This is not in any way shape or form intended to limit speakers,” O’Hare said. “This is not in any way shape or form attempted to stifle free speech. This is to make sure there is stability in the courtroom as the presiding officer, statutorily, it is my duty to make sure we have decorum.”

O’Hare said that while he can eject someone for breaking decorum he cannot issue a criminal trespass warning. That is the duty of the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office.

Two frequent critics were issued trespassing warnings earlier this month after they violated the rules. Former state Rep. Lon Burnam approached O’Hare at the end of a meeting and the Rev. Ryon Price of Broadway Baptist Church spoke past the three-minute time limit for public comments.

Over 20 speakers signed up for public comments, many speaking out against the ejections, bans and the emphasis on the rules becoming stricter.