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Office of the Attorney General - State of Texas John Cornyn |
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May 31, 2002 Mr. J. David Dodd, III
OR2002-2946 Dear Mr. Dodd: You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 163685. The City of Allen Animal Control Department (the "city"), which you represent, received a request for all information related to an alleged dog attack against the requestor and any other information relating to the dogs. You claim that the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information. Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." This exception encompasses information that another statute makes confidential. Section 826.0311 of the Health and Safety Code provides that: [i]nformation that is contained in a municipal or county registry of dogs and cats under Section 826.031 that identifies or tends to identify the owner or an address, telephone number, or other personally identifying information of the owner of the registered dog or cat is confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code. Health & Safety Code § 826.0311(a) (emphasis added). Section 826.0311 makes information in a municipal or county pet registry confidential. In this instance, however, you have submitted Animal Shelter "Bite Reports." Section 826.0311 does not encompass these documents. Only the pet registry itself is confidential under section 826.0311. Section 826.0311 is not applicable to the contents of other records, even though those documents contain the same information as the pet registry. See Open Records Decision No. 478 at 2 (1987) (statutory confidentiality requires express language making certain information confidential or stating that information shall not be released to public). Thus, the submitted information is not confidential under section 826.0311 of the Health and Safety Code and may not be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code. See also Open Records Decision No. 658 at 4 (1998) (statutory confidentiality provision must be express, and confidentiality requirement will not be implied from statutory structure). You also assert that the submitted information is excepted under section 552.108 of the Government Code. You do not assert that the governmental body that generated these records is a law enforcement agency. Generally, when a non-law-enforcement agency seeks to withhold information under section 552.108, it must indicate that it has discovered possible criminal conduct that it "intends to report to appropriate law enforcement officials." Open Records Decision No. 493 at 2 (1988) ( predecessor statute); see also Attorney General Opinion MW-575 at 1-2 (1982) (same). You do not indicate that the conduct at issue has been or will reported to the appropriate law enforcement authority. Consequently, we find that you have not demonstrated the applicability of section 552.108. We note, however, that the submitted information contains a driver's license number. Section 552.130 of the Government Code provides in part that "a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license or permit issued by an agency of this state" is excepted from required public disclosure. See Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(1). Therefore, you must withhold the Texas driver's license number that we have marked. All other information must be released. 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 Texas Building and Procurement 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. We note that a third party may challenge this ruling by filing suit seeking to withhold information from a requestor. Gov't Code § 552.325. 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, Denis C. McElroy
c: Ms. Lori A. Brown
POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |