December 29, 2004

Ms. Lillian Guillen Graham
Assistant City Attorney
City of Mesquite
P. O. Box 850137
Mesquite, Texas 75185

OR2004-10897

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# 215745.

The City of Mesquite (the "city") received a request for information pertaining to a specified dog bite incident. You claim that some of the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.130 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.101 excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision" and encompasses information made confidential by other statutes. Section 826.0211 of the Health and Safety Code provides in pertinent part that "[i]nformation that is contained in a rabies vaccination certificate that identifies or tends to identify the owner or an address, telephone number, or other personally identifying information of the owner of the vaccinated animal is confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code." Health & Safety Code § 826.0211(a). The only exception to this confidentiality is that the information may be disclosed "to a governmental entity for purposes related to the protection of public health and safety." Id. § 826.0211(b). You indicate that section 826.0211 applies because portions of the submitted information lists "when and where the two dogs were vaccinated along with the owner's name, telephone number, and home address." We note however, that the document titled "Animal Bite Report and Quarantine Data" is not itself a rabies vaccination certificate. We conclude that section 826.0211 does not apply to a record other than a rabies vaccination certificate as stated in the plain language of the provision. Accordingly, we conclude that the information you have marked is not made confidential by section 826.0211 of the Health and Safety Code, and thus may not be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code on that basis.

You also claim that a portion of the submitted information is subject to section 552.130 of the Government Code. Section 552.130 excepts from disclosure information relating to a Texas motor vehicle driver's license and information relating to a Texas motor vehicle title or registration. Gov't Code § 552.130. Thus, the city must withhold the information it has marked pursuant to section 552.130. The remaining information must be released to the requestor.

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,

Debbie K. Lee
Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Division
DKL/krl
Ref: ID# 215745
Enc. Submitted documents

c: Mr. Noel Maldonado
10440 N. Central Expwy., Suite 1000
Dallas, Texas 75231
(w/o enclosures)