 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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March 3, 2005 Ms. Sandra Smith
OR2005-01838 Dear Ms. Smith: You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 222219. The Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners (the "board") received a request for information concerning a named chiropractor. You state that some information will be released. You claim that portions of the information at issue 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. Section 552.101 of the Government Code 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 58.001 of the Occupations Code provides as follows: The social security number of an applicant for or holder of a license, certificate of registration, or other legal authorization issued by a licensing agency to practice in a specific occupation or profession that is provided to the licensing agency is confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code. Occ. Code § 58.001. The submitted documents include the social security number of the chiropractor at issue. We find that the social security number is confidential under section 58.001 of the Occupations Code and must be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code. Section 552.101 also encompasses the doctrine of common-law privacy, which protects information if (1) the information contains highly intimate or embarrassing facts, the publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person, and (2) the information is not of legitimate concern to the public. Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668, 685 (Tex. 1976). Prior decisions of this office have determined that personal financial information not related to a transaction between an individual and a governmental body is generally not subject to a legitimate public interest and is therefore protected by common-law privacy. See Open Records Decision No. 600 (1992). However, this office has also determined that the essential facts about a financial transaction between an individual and a governmental body generally are subject to a legitimate public interest. See Open Decision Nos. 545 (1990) (financial information pertaining to receipt of funds from governmental body or debts owed to governmental body not protected by common-law privacy), 523 (1989). You indicate that the submitted documents may contain personal financial information that is protected by common-law privacy. We find that an indication that the chiropractor at issue is 100% owner of a chiropractic facility is not within the scope of personal financial information that is protected by privacy. Accordingly, we find the board may not withhold any portion of the submitted information pursuant to section 552.101 and common-law privacy. You have marked the chiropractor's Texas driver's license number in the submitted documents. Section 552.130 of the Government Code excepts 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. The board must withhold the marked driver's license number pursuant to section 552.130 of the Government Code. In summary, the board must withhold the chiropractor's social security number pursuant to section 552.101 in conjunction with section 58.001 of the Occupations Code, and must withhold the chiropractor's driver's license number under section 552.130. The remainder of the submitted information is not excepted from disclosure and 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, upon receiving this ruling, the governmental body will either release the public records promptly pursuant to section 552.221(a) of the Government Code or file a lawsuit challenging this ruling pursuant to section 552.324 of the Government Code. If the governmental body fails to do one of these things, 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); Tex. 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 ten calendar days of the date of this ruling. Sincerely, David R. Saldivar
c: Mr. Jamie Burwell
POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB:WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |