Open Records Decision No. 237
April 4, 1980

	Re:  Whether records of an emergency medical service regarding the 
transportation of patients are available to a member of the legislature.

Mr. Wade Adkins
El Paso City Attorney
Legal Department
Room 303, City-County Building
El Paso, Texas  79999

Dear Mr. Adkins:

	You have requested our decision under the Open Records Act, article 6252-17a, 
V.T.C.S., as to whether records of an emergency medical service regarding the 
transportation of patients are available to a member of the legislature.

	These records consist of incident reports filed by ambulance drivers and 
attendants who are employees of the Emergency Medical Services System of the El Paso 
City-County Health Unit.  Each report relates to emergency medical treatment and 
transportation to a hospital of persons who have given birth under the care of lay 
midwives.  The reports describe in detail each patient's physical condition, the 
circumstances surrounding the birth of the infant, and the emergency treatment 
administered to both mother and child.  The requestor has specifically asked that the 
names of the patients not be deleted.

	We believe the information at issue here is protected from disclosure to the public 
by either a common law or constitutional right of privacy by section 3(a)(1) of the Open 
Records Act, which excepts

information deemed confidential by law, either Constitutional, 
statutory, or by judicial decision.

	In Attorney General Opinion H-390 (1974) medical records of individual citizens 
were found to be within the ambit of section 3(a)(1) and were thus excepted from 
disclosure to the general public.  See also Industrial Foundation of the South v. Texas 
Industrial Accident Board, 540 S.W.2d 668, 679 (Tex. 1976).

	Even though a document may not be available to the general public, it is possible 
that it is required to be revealed to a member of the legislature.  Sections 3(b) and 14(c) 
of the Open Records Act provide:

3(b)	This section does not authorize withholding of information 
	or limit the availability of records to the public, except as 
	specifically stated in this section.  This section is not 
	authority to withhold information from individual members 
	or committees of the legislature to use for legislative 
	purposes.

14(c)	This Act does not give authority to withhold information 
		from individual members of committees of the Legislature 
		of the State of Texas to use for legislative purposes.

	On several occasions this office has indicated that the special right of access 
afforded legislators by these two portions of the Act does not extend to information 
excepted from disclosure by statute or common law, i.e., by section 3(a)(1).  Attorney 
General Opinions H-427, H-353 (1974); Open Records Decision Nos. 163 (1977); 119 
(1976); 113 (1975); 62, 44 (1974).  Both provisions state merely that nothing in the Open 
Records Act provides authority to withhold information from a member of the legislature 
who seeks the information for legislative purposes.  Here the information, so long as it is 
personally identifiable, is made confidential by a common law or constitutional right of 
privacy rather than by the Open Records Act.  Accordingly, sections 3(b) and 14(c) do 
not provide a legislator with a special right of access to individual's medical records 
under the Open Records Act.

Very truly yours,

Mark White
Attorney General of Texas

John W. Fainter, Jr.
First Assistant Attorney General

Ted L. Hartley
Executive Assistant Attorney General

Prepared by Rick Gilpin
and C. Robert Heath
Assistant Attorneys General

APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE

C. Robert Heath, Chairman
David B. Brooks
Susan Garrison
Rick Gilpin
Bruce Youngblood