 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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January 28, 2005 Mr. John T. Patterson
OR2005-00838 Dear Mr. Patterson: You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 217813. The Waco Police Department (the "department") received a request for information related to a particular traffic accident. You state that you will release some of the requested information but claim that other portions of the submitted information are 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.(1) Section 552.101 excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision" and encompasses information that another statute makes confidential. Chapter 772 of the Health and Safety Code makes the originating telephone numbers and addresses of certain 9-1-1 calls confidential. This chapter authorizes the development of local emergency communications districts. Sections 772.118, 772.218, and 772.318 of the Health and Safety Code apply only to an emergency 9-1-1 district established in accordance with chapter 772. See Open Records Decision No. 649 (1996). These statutes make confidential the originating telephone numbers and addresses of 9-1-1 callers that are furnished by a service supplier. Id. at 2. Section 772.118 applies to an emergency communication district for a county with a population of more than two million. Section 772.218 applies to an emergency communication district for a county with a population of more than 860,000. Section 772.318 applies to an emergency communication district for a county with a population of more than 20,000. You contend that the originating telephone numbers of 9-1-1 callers that are contained in the submitted call sheets are confidential under chapter 772. To the extent the originating addresses and telephone numbers of 9-1-1 callers were supplied by a 9-1-1 service supplier to a 9-1-1 district that is subject to section 772.118, 772.218, or 772.318 of the Health and Safety Code, the addresses and telephone numbers must be withheld from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code as information deemed confidential by statute. However, if the addresses and telephone numbers were not provided by a 9-1-1 service supplier to a 9-1-1 district subject to section 772.118, 772.218, or 772.318, the addresses and telephone numbers may not be withheld on this basis and, as you claim no other exception for them, they must be released. You also note that portions of the submitted information are excepted from public disclosure under section 552.130 of the Government Code. This section excepts from disclosure information that "relates to . . . a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license or permit 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. We note, however, that section 552.130 is designed to protect individuals' privacy and that the right to privacy expires at death. See Moore v. Charles B. Pierce Film Enters. Inc., 589 S.W.2d 489 (Tex. Civ. App.--Texarkana 1979, writ ref'd n.r.e.); see also Justice v. Belo Broadcasting Corp., 472 F. Supp. 145, 146- 47 (N.D. Tex. 1979); Attorney General Opinions JM-229 (1984); H-917 (1976); Open Records Decision No. 272 at 1 (1981). Accordingly, to the extent the motor vehicle record information pertains to persons who are living and vehicles in which living individuals have an ownership interest, it must be withheld under section 552.130. Information from motor vehicle records that were issued to persons who are now deceased may not be withheld under section 552.130. We also note that you must withhold the license plate numbers in the responsive photographs to the extent they pertain to vehicles in which living individuals have an ownership interest under section 552.130 of the Government Code. In summary, to the extent that the submitted information includes originating telephone numbers and addresses of 9-1-1 callers that were supplied by a service supplier to a 9-1-1 district that is subject to section 772.118, 772.218, or 772.318 of the Health and Safety Code, the telephone numbers and addresses must be withheld pursuant to section 552.101 of the Government Code. Under section 552.130 of the Government Code, the department must also withhold Texas-issued motor vehicle information to the extent that it pertains to persons who are living and vehicles in which living individuals have an ownership interest. The remaining 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 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, L. Joseph James
c: Mr. David A. Brown
Footnotes 1. We assume that the "representative sample" of records submitted to this office is truly representative of the requested records as a whole. See Open Records Decision Nos. 499 (1988), 497 (1988). This open records letter does not reach, and therefore does not authorize the withholding of, any other requested records to the extent that those records contain substantially different types of information than that submitted to this office. POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB:WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |