 Office of the ATTORNEY GENERAL GREG ABBOTT | |
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May 1, 2003 Ms. Lillian Guillen Graham
OR2003-2920 Dear Ms.Graham: You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 182862. The City of Mesquite Police Department (the "department") received a request for information regarding service number 03027845, which pertains to a vehicle accident. You state that the submitted call sheet is the only document responsive to the request.(1) You claim that some of the information in the submitted call sheet is excepted from disclosure under section 552.130 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information. We have also considered the arguments submitted by the requestor. See Gov't Code § 552.304 (providing for submission of public comments). Section 552.130 of the Government Code prohibits the release of information that relates to a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license or permit issued by an agency of this state, a personal identification document issued by an agency of this state, or a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state. See Gov't Code § 552.130. Accordingly, we agree that the department must withhold the Texas license plate numbers you have marked in the submitted document pursuant to section 552.130 of the Government Code. The remaining information in the submitted document 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 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, Karen Rabon
c: Mr. Brent Drew
Mr. Hulen Ford
Footnotes 1. We note that the Public Information Act (the "Act") does not require a governmental body to disclose information that did not exist at the time the request was received. Economic Opportunities Dev. Corp. v. Bustamante, 562 S.W.2d 266 (Tex. Civ. App.--San Antonio 1978, writ dism'd); Open Records Decision No. 452 at 3 (1986). Nor is a governmental body required to prepare new information to respond to a request for information. Open Records Decision No. 605 (1992), 572 (1990), 416 (1984). POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |