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Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday will consider replacing County Judge Lina Hidalgo on the board of the Houston-Galveston Area Council after she missed more than 50 consecutive meetings of the regional planning body over the past four and a half years.

The council, known as H-GAC, is responsible for distributing millions of dollars in federal funding for transportation and other projects across the region. 

Its board of directors has 37 members representing 13 counties, 107 cities and 11 independent school districts. Though Houston and Harris County account for 57 percent of the region’s population, each has only two seats on the board.

The council has been embroiled in a dispute over whether the city and county should have more representatives on the board.

Houston voters last November approved a charter amendment known as Proposition B, which aimed to increase the city’s voting power on the regional planning organization. The proposition, which passed with 65 percent of the vote, requires the city to participate in regional planning organizations like H-GAC only if its voting privileges are proportional to its population.

The city had a 60-day deadline after the proposition passed to renegotiate its voting power but did not meet the cutoff. Initially, the city was supposed to withdraw from the organization if an agreement could not be reached but the advocates who pushed for the change said they were happy with  ongoing conversations between Houston and H-GAC officials. 

While city voters say they want more representation at H-GAC, records show Harris County has been lacking a key voice on the board, with Hidalgo missing nearly every H-GAC meeting since July 2019. 

Her absence from the most recent H-GAC board meeting on Feb. 20 could have had real consequences. The board was expected to take potential action on a proportional voting structure that could give Houston and Harris County additional sway. The measure was delayed by 30 days at the request of Houston Mayor John Whitmire.

According to a Houston Landing review of H-GAC Board of Directors minutes and attendance records, Hidalgo attended a meeting on Jan. 19, before missing the February one. Prior to January, Hidalgo had not attended a meeting since July 16, 2019, records show. 

The Office of County Administration has an item on the agenda for Tuesday’s Commissioners Court to remove Hidalgo as a board member and make her an alternate for Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia. The item, which will be discussed during an executive session behind closed doors, calls for replacing Hidalgo with Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones, with Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis as an alternate.

Hidalgo is expected to miss Tuesday’s Commissioners Court meeting for a pre-planned vacation.

Commissioners Court originally was scheduled to hold its regular meeting on Feb. 20, but postponed for one week, so board members could attend the H-GAC meeting.

Hidalgo spokesperson Angelica Luna Kaufman said the judge was balancing running emergency management for the county and shepherding the jurisdiction through the coronavirus pandemic and extreme weather events, like the freeze in 2021. 

“There are many priorities pulling at the county judge’s time,” she said in a statement. “She is focused on where she can make the most significant impact for our community, and it’s important that she prioritize where she can.” 

Each year, Commissioners Court appoints two court members to serve as a representative on H-GAC’s board and general assembly. The term runs from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31. Up to two alternates also are selected each year.

Last year, Hidalgo took a leave of absence for nearly two months for out-of-state treatment for clinical depression. During that time, she would have missed two H-GAC board meetings.

From 2019 to 2022, Garcia served as the second board member alongside Hidalgo. Throughout his tenure, he missed 17 of 46 meetings. 

In 2023, Garcia was not reappointed to the board and his seat was left vacant. It is unclear why a replacement was never nominated. The county administrator, who oversees boards and commissions, declined comment.

“When available, a second county appointee or an alternate was in attendance at the meetings,” Hidalgo’s spokeswoman said.

Records show Harris County had zero representation at every board meeting throughout 2023.

Ellis was an alternate for Hidalgo last year. H-GAC attendance records, however, incorrectly list Ellis as a board member. He did not attend any meetings.

Garcia said in a statement that he “prioritizes” his board appointment because Houston accounts for a large portion of the region and he wants the county’s voice to be heard. 

“We work better when we are good neighbors to each other,” he wrote. “A continuous open dialogue is the only way to create a path forward that makes sense for the entire region.”

Briones’ office did not respond to request for comment by deadline. 

Rick Guerrero, H-GAC’s chief outreach and governmental affairs officer, said there typically are anywhere between 20 and 25 members present for board meetings. Meetings are held the third Tuesday of each month at 10 a.m. 

Commissioners Court’s regular meetings are held twice a month, also on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. Hidalgo’s office partly blamed her absences at H-GAC on those scheduling conflicts.

Since 2019, 16 court meetings have coincided with scheduled H-GAC board meetings.

Guerrero said it is important to have “as many regional voices at the table,” particularly because decisions often relate to distributing funding or securing federal grants or talk about new or upcoming programs that may benefit jurisdictions. He said sometimes members have to miss meetings because of scheduling conflicts or emergencies arise that require the public official’s attention.

“Decisions have to be made, no matter who shows up,” he said. “We always encourage and invite all of our membership to show up and to engage and be an active participant. We really don’t take these decisions lightly and we certainly don’t want anyone feeling as though they missed an opportunity to vote on an important project.”

Houston Landing reporter Akhil Ganesh contributed to this story. 

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