ℹ️ TL;DR — Chapter 391 Planning Committees
A Chapter 391 planning committee is a way for counties, cities, and other public entities to plan together instead of making big decisions in isolation.
- It does not have the power to stop projects by itself
- It does not replace commissioners court or city councils
- It does create coordination, documentation, and visibility
- Voting members are appointed officials (county, city, districts)
- Citizens usually participate as non-voting advisors
- It helps prevent “death by a thousand cuts” where many small approvals permanently change a community
- It can still matter even if projects have already started
- Its real value is influence, not authority
👉 It’s not a silver bullet — it’s a tool that helps communities ask better questions earlier and make long-term impacts harder to ignore.
This explainer is written in plain English on purpose.
Chapter 391 planning committees sound complicated and bureaucratic, but the basic idea is actually simple once you strip away the legal language.
What is a Chapter 391 planning committee?
A Chapter 391 planning committee is a formal, legal way for multiple local governments to sit down and plan together instead of making big decisions in isolation.
It is authorized under Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 391.
It is:
- voluntary
- regional
- public
- advisory
It is not a new layer of government.
Think of it like this:
If counties, cities, and districts are individual ranches, a Chapter 391 committee is the neighbors meeting around the table to talk about shared fences, shared water, and shared roads before someone builds something that affects everyone.
How does it work?
A Chapter 391 committee works by:
- Being officially created by participating governments
- Holding public meetings
- Studying issues that affect more than one jurisdiction
- Producing plans, reports, and recommendations
- Coordinating responses across county and city lines
The committee itself does not issue permits or approvals.
Instead, it creates:
- shared understanding
- documented findings
- coordinated planning
- a public record
Those outputs are then used by the actual decision-makers.
Who can be on a Chapter 391 committee?
This is one of the most misunderstood parts.
Voting members (real, existing titles)
Voting members are almost always people who already hold public office and are appointed to represent their government.
Common examples include:
From the county
- County Judge (or a designee)
- County Commissioners appointed by Commissioners Court
- County Administrator (if applicable)
From cities
- Mayor
- City Council Member
- City Manager
From other public entities
- School Board Trustees (ISDs)
- Groundwater District Directors
- Emergency Services District (ESD) board members
- Hospital District board members
- Utility or special district representatives
These members vote on committee actions, such as adopting reports or recommendations.
What about regular citizens?
Yes — citizens can absolutely be involved.
Most Chapter 391 committees include non-voting members, such as:
- subject-matter experts
- emergency services leaders
- engineers or planners
- water system operators
- landowners
- community representatives
These members:
- fully participate in discussion
- provide data and expertise
- help draft recommendations
But they do not cast formal votes.
Voting vs non-voting members
Voting members
- appointed by a government
- represent that government
- vote on committee actions
Think:
“This is the official position of the county or city.”
Non-voting members
- invited or appointed
- advise and inform
- shape discussion
- do not vote
Think:
“This is expert or community input.”
Both roles matter, just in different ways.
What power does a Chapter 391 committee have?
This is critical to understand:
👉 A Chapter 391 committee has no direct regulatory power.
It cannot:
- stop a project by itself
- deny permits
- override commissioners court
- impose zoning rules
- raise taxes
So why do communities use them?
If it has no power, does it have influence?
Yes — and influence is the entire point.
A Chapter 391 committee can:
- document cumulative impacts
- create regional plans
- coordinate across jurisdictions
- establish an official public record
- make quiet deals harder to justify
- slow rushed decision-making
- unify multiple governments around shared concerns
Influence is not authority — but influence changes outcomes.
What does “death by a thousand cuts” mean?
This phrase describes how communities change permanently without any single decision seeming catastrophic.
A realistic example
One solar farm is approved
“It’s just one.”Battery storage is added later
“It’s related.”A data center is proposed
“Different project.”A substation is built
“Needed infrastructure.”Transmission lines follow
“Unavoidable.”Roads wear down
“Maintenance issue.”Emergency response burden grows
“We’ll figure it out.”
Each decision is made individually.
No one vote looks outrageous.
But together:
- land use changes permanently
- water demand increases dramatically
- volunteer first responders are stretched
- rural character is lost
That is “death by a thousand cuts.”
How does a Chapter 391 committee help with that?
A Chapter 391 committee forces questions like:
- How do these projects interact?
- What are the cumulative impacts?
- Who pays when risks stack up?
- What happens after the first project?
It doesn’t stop the first cut.
It helps prevent the hundredth.
When is the best time to form a committee?
As early as possible.
The earlier it exists:
- the broader the scope
- the more proactive the planning
- the harder it is to ignore long-term impacts
But that’s not the whole story.
Can a committee be formed after projects have started?
Yes.
A Chapter 391 committee can be formed:
- after projects are proposed
- while negotiations are ongoing
- while permits are pending
- even after construction has begun
What changes is what it can realistically influence.
Can it still matter if projects aren’t complete?
Potentially, yes.
A committee can still influence:
- future phases
- expansions
- infrastructure planning
- emergency response coordination
- mitigation strategies
- conditions on later approvals
Think of it this way:
You may not stop the first barn from being built, but you can influence where the next five go — and what rules apply to them.
What a Chapter 391 committee is good at
It is especially useful for:
- long-term planning
- regional coordination
- cumulative impact analysis
- slowing rushed decisions
- creating transparency
- keeping issues visible
It turns isolated concerns into documented regional issues.
What it is not
It is not:
- a veto
- a silver bullet
- a fast fix
- a replacement for public engagement
It is a tool — not an outcome.
Bottom line (plain English)
A Chapter 391 planning committee:
- doesn’t stop projects by itself
- doesn’t override local governments
- doesn’t make decisions for anyone
But it forces coordination, documentation, and daylight.
And in complex, high-impact situations, those things matter.