|
Office of the Attorney General - State of Texas John Cornyn |
|
May 30, 2001 Mr. Ramon Dominguez
OR2001-2229 Dear Mr. Dominguez: You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 147780. The El Paso Community College (the "college") received a request for (1) the names and resumes of all the applicants for the El Paso Community College president position, and (2) the names, if available, of the finalists for the vacancy. You claim that the requested information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.123 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information. Section 552.123 of the Government Code excepts from required public disclosure: The name of an applicant for the position of chief executive officer of an institution of higher education . . . except that the governing body of the institution must give public notice of the name or names of the finalists being considered for the position at least 21 days before the date of the meeting at which final action or vote is to be taken on the employment of the person. Gov't Code § 552.123. Section 552.123 permits the withholding of any identifying information about candidates, not just their names. Open Records Decision No. 540 (1990) (construing statutory predecessor to section 552.123). Examples of information identifying individuals might include, but is not limited to, resumes, professional qualifications, membership in professional organizations, dates of birth, current positions, publications, letters of recommendation, or any other information that can be uniquely associated with a particular applicant. Id. at 4. In addition, the exception protects the identities of all persons being considered for the position of university president, whether they apply on their own initiative or they are nominated. Id. at 5. You state the college is a public community or junior college, and as such, is an "institution of higher education" as defined by section 61.003(8) of the Texas Education Code. Section 61.003(8) of the Education Code defines an institution of higher education as "any public technical institute, public junior college, public senior college or university, medical or dental unit, public state college, or other agency of higher education as defined in this section." Educ. Code § 61.003(8). In addition, you inform us that a presidential search is currently underway to choose a new president who will assume the duties of the college's chief executive officer by September of this year, and that the college will give public notice of the names of the finalists at least 21 days prior to final hiring action by the board of trustees. Based on your representations and our review of the information, we conclude you may withhold the submitted information under section 552.123 of the Government Code. 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, Yen-Ha Le
Ref: ID# 147780 Enc.: Submitted documents c: Ms. Tammy Fonce-Olivas, Reporter
POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |