 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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August 11, 2005 Ms. Pamela Smith
OR2005-07285 Dear Ms. Smtih: 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# 230206. The Texas Department of Public Safety (the "department") received a request for "an electronic copy of all drivers in the State of Texas that have been convicted of Operating a Motor Vehicle while under the Influence" for a specific period of time. You claim that the requested information is excepted from disclosure pursuant to sections 552.101 and 552.130 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted representative sample of information.(1) Section 521.051 of the Transportation Code provides that the department "may not disclose class-type listings from the basic driver's license file to any person" except in certain situations as set out in section 521.049(c) of the Transportation Code. In Open Records Decision No. 618 (1993), this office determined that the purpose of the statutory predecessor to section 521.051 "appears to be to relieve the department of the administrative burden of compiling a list based primarily on location and existence of traffic convictions, i.e., a class type list, when the requestor does not have individual driver's license numbers or names."(2) Id at 3. We agreed that the provision limits access when the requestor seeks license listings by specific type, such as "a list of licensees who have traffic convictions on file, or a list of those who might be subject to administrative hearings to suspend their license." Id. You assert that the requested information is a class-type listing that the department may not provide to the requestor. Upon consideration of your arguments and review of the submitted information, we agree that section 521.051 is applicable to the information at issue. We note that section 521.049(c) provides that the department may make class-type listings available "to an official of the United States, the state, or a political subdivision of this state for governmental purposes only." You do not indicate, nor does it appear to this office, that section 521.049(c) is applicable in this instance. Thus, pursuant to section 521.051, the department may not provide the requested information to the requestor. See Open Records Decision No. 618 at 4 (1993).(3) 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 10 calendar days of the date of this ruling. Sincerely, Louis T. Dubuque
c: Mr. Edwin G. Bowles
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). Here, we do not address any other requested records to the extent that those records contain substantially different types of information than that submitted to this office. 2. We noted in Open Records Decision No. 618 (1993) that while the statute restricts access to class listings, it does not make the information confidential by law under section 552.101 of the Government Code. See id. at 3 n.3. 3. As our ruling on this issue is dispositive, we need not address your remaining argument against disclosure. POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB:WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |