 Office of the ATTORNEY GENERAL GREG ABBOTT | |
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April 10, 2003 Ms. Myrna S. Reingold
OR2003-2417 Dear Ms. Reingold: You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 179144. The Galveston County Health District (the "district") received a request for "a copy of the investigative reports of the food poisoning incident at the Galveston County Jail" conducted by the district on a certain date. You state that you have released some of the requested information. You claim that the remaining requested information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and have reviewed the submitted information. We first note that the release of some of the submitted information is governed by section 552.022 of the Government Code. Section 552.022 provides, in relevant part: (a) Without limiting the amount or kind of information that is public information under this chapter, the following categories of information are public information and not excepted from required disclosure under this chapter unless they are expressly confidential under other law: (1) a completed report, audit, evaluation, or investigation made of, for, or by a governmental body, except as provided by Section 552.108[.] Some of the submitted records consist of completed reports and investigations for purposes of section 552.022(a)(1). Therefore, you may only withhold this information from disclosure if it is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 or is confidential under other law. You do not argue that any of the submitted information is made confidential under section 552.108. As you argue that the information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code, we will address the applicability of this exception to the information at issue. 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 section encompasses information protected by other statutes. You contend that the requested information is confidential under section 81.046 of the Health and Safety Code. Section 81.046 provides in pertinent part: (a) Reports, records, and information furnished to a health authority or the department that relate to cases or suspected cases of diseases or health conditions are confidential and may be used only for the purposes of this chapter. (b) Reports, records, and information relating to cases or suspected cases of diseases or health conditions are not public information under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may not be released or made public on subpoena or otherwise except as provided by Subsection (c) and (d). In Open Records Decision No. 577 (1990), this office concluded that any information acquired or created during an investigation under chapter 81 is confidential and may not be released unless an exception set out in the statute applies. Upon review, we note that the submitted information relates to an investigation of cases or suspected cases of diseases or health conditions. Based on your representations and our review, we agree that the submitted information falls within the scope of section 81.046. We further note that none of the release provisions of section 81.046 applies in this instance. Accordingly, we conclude that the district must withhold from disclosure the information at issue pursuant to section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 81.046 of the Health and Safety Code. As our ruling on this issue is dispositive, we do not address your remaining argument. 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 Dep't of Pub. 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, V.G. Schimmel
c: Mr. Clement Aldridge, Jr.
POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |