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Office of the Attorney General - State of Texas John Cornyn |
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March 15, 2001 Mr. James W. Wallace
OR2001-1030 Dear Mr. Wallace: You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act, chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 145051. Camp County (the "county") received a request for information relating to the settlement of a federal lawsuit involving the county. You inform this office that the county has released information that is responsive to the request. You inquire whether the county also must release the settlement agreement. We have considered your comments and have reviewed the information you submitted. Section 552.301 of the Government Code prescribes procedures that a governmental body must follow in asking this office to decide whether requested information is excepted from public disclosure. Section 552.301(b) provides that "[t]he governmental body must ask for the attorney general's decision and state the exceptions that apply . . . not later than the 10th business day after the date of receiving the written request [for information]." Gov't Code § 552.301(b). Section 552.301(e) provides in relevant part that "[a] governmental body that requests an attorney general decision . . . must . . . not later than the 15th business day after the date of receiving the written request . . . submit to the attorney general . . . a copy of the written request for information[.]" Gov't Code § 552.301(e)(1)(B). Section 552.302 provides that "[i]f a governmental body does not request an attorney general decision as provided by Section 552.301 . . . the information requested in writing is presumed to be subject to required public disclosure and must be released unless there is a compelling reason to withhold the information." Gov't Code § 552.302 (emphasis added). You inform this office that the county received the written request for the information in question "on or about December 10, 2000." You requested this decision by letter dated January 9, 2001. You did not submit a copy of the request for information. Thus, the county failed to ask for this decision as provided by section 552.301 of the Government Code, and therefore the requested information is subject to required public disclosure unless a compelling reason exists to withhold that information from the public. See Open Records Decision Nos. 630 at 3 (1994) (stating that operation of section 552.302 can be overcome by a demonstration that requested information is confidential by law or that interests of third parties are at stake), 325 at 2 (1982) (construing statutory predecessor to section 552.302). The county has not demonstrated that the settlement agreement is confidential by law or that there is any other compelling reason to withhold it from public disclosure. Therefore, you must release the settlement agreement to the requestor. See also Gov't Code § 552.022(a)(18) (providing for required public disclosure of a settlement agreement to which a governmental body is a party). This letter ruling is limited to the particular records at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other records or any other circumstances. This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For example, governmental bodies are prohibited from asking the attorney general to reconsider this ruling. Gov't Code § 552.301(f). If the governmental body wants to challenge this ruling, the governmental body must appeal by filing suit in Travis County within 30 calendar days. Id. § 552.324(b). In order to get the full benefit of such an appeal, the governmental body must file suit within 10 calendar days. Id. § 552.353(b)(3), (c). If the governmental body does not appeal this ruling and the governmental body does not comply with it, then both the requestor and the attorney general have the right to file suit against the governmental body to enforce this ruling. Id. § 552.321(a). If this ruling requires the governmental body to release all or part of the requested information, the governmental body is responsible for taking the next step. Based on the statute, the attorney general expects that, within 10 calendar days of this ruling, the governmental body will do one of the following three things: 1) release the public records; 2) notify the requestor of the exact day, time, and place that copies of the records will be provided or that the records can be inspected; or 3) notify the requestor of the governmental body's intent to challenge this letter ruling in court. If the governmental body fails to do one of these three things within 10 calendar days of this ruling, then the requestor should report that failure to the attorney general's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at 877/673-6839. The requestor may also file a complaint with the district or county attorney. Id. § 552.3215(e). If this ruling requires or permits the governmental body to withhold all or some of the requested information, the requestor can appeal that decision by suing the governmental body. Id. § 552.321(a); Texas Department of Public Safety v. Gilbreath, 842 S.W.2d 408, 411 (Tex. App.--Austin 1992, no writ). Please remember that under the Act the release of information triggers certain procedures for costs and charges to the requestor. If records are released in compliance with this ruling, be sure that all charges for the information are at or below the legal amounts. Questions or complaints about over-charging must be directed to Hadassah Schloss at the General Services Commission at 512/475-2497. If the governmental body, the requestor, or any other person has questions or comments about this ruling, they may contact our office. Although there is no statutory deadline for contacting us, the attorney general prefers to receive any comments within 10 calendar days of the date of this ruling. Sincerely, James W. Morris, III
JWM/er Ref: ID# 145051 Encl: Submitted documents cc: Ms. Debbie Knox
POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |