 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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November 29, 2005 Ms. Susan Camp-Lee
OR2005-10680 Dear Ms. Camp-Lee: You have asked whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 240529. The City of Hutto (the "city"), which you represent, received a request for the resumes of Captain Harold Thomas and Lieutenant Michael Scoggins who applied for the position of Hutto Police Chief. The city claims some of the information is excepted from public disclosure under sections 552.117 and 552.137 of the Government Code. Section 552.117(2) excepts from public disclosure a peace officer's home address, home telephone number, social security number, and information that reveals whether an officer has family members. We note, however, that the protection of section 552.117 only applies to information that the governmental body holds in its capacity as an employer. See Gov't Code § 552.117 (providing that employees of governmental entities may protect certain personal information in the hands of their employer). Here, section 552.117(a)(2) is inapplicable because the city does not employ these peace officers. However, this information may be excepted under section 552.1175 of the Government Code, which provides in part the following: (b) Information that relates to the home address, home telephone number, or social security number of [a peace officer as defined by article 2.12 of the Code of Criminal Procedure], or that reveals whether the individual has family members is confidential and may not be disclosed to the public under this chapter if the individual to whom the information relates: (1) chooses to restrict public access to the information; and (2) notifies the governmental body of the individual's choice on a form provided by the governmental body, accompanied by evidence of the individual's status. Gov't Code § 552.1175(b). You do not inform this office, nor does any of the submitted information indicate, whether the officers at issue notified the city of their elections of confidentiality for this information in accordance with subsections 552.1175(b)(1) and (2). Accordingly, the city must withhold the yellow-highlighted information under section 552.1175 if the officers elected to restrict access to this information in accordance with section 552.1175(b). If no elections were made, the city may not withhold this information under section 552.1175. Section 552.137 makes certain e-mail addresses confidential. Section 552.137 provides: (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, an e-mail address of a member of the public that is provided for the purpose of communicating electronically with a governmental body is confidential and not subject to disclosure under this chapter. Gov't Code § 552.137. Under section 552.137, a governmental body must withhold the e-mail address of a member of the general public, unless the individual to whom the e-mail address belongs has affirmatively consented to its public disclosure. See id. § 552.137(b). The city states the individual has not affirmatively consented to the release of his e-mail address. The city must, therefore, withhold the e-mail address highlighted in green under section 552.137. 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); 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 Office of the Attorney General 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. 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, Yen-Ha Le
c: Ms. Lisa Taylor-Braden
POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB:WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |