 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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April 13, 2006 Ms. Carla M. Cordova
Mr. John C. West
OR2006-03724 Dear Ms. Cordova and Mr. West: 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# 246254. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (the "department") received a request for numerous categories of information relating to a specified inmate and the policies, orders, and procedures relating to the care and supervision of inmates with the following characteristics: history of self-mutilation or attempted suicide, IQ below 70, involved in "use of force" incidents, and placed in administrative segregation in a single cell. The department and the Office of the Inspector General of the department (the "OIG") have submitted separate briefs, as well as separate documents that each seeks to withhold from disclosure.(1) The department claims that the information it has submitted is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.108, and 552.134 of the Government Code. The OIG states that it has released to the requestor basic information regarding the case, as well as the two-page Custodial Death Report, with redactions pursuant to the previous determination issued by this office in Open Records Letter No. 2005-01067 (2005).(2) See Gov't Code § 552.301(a); Open Records Decision No. 673 at 7-8 (2001) (delineating elements of second type of previous determination under section 552.301(a)). The OIG also states that it is withholding social security numbers pursuant to section 552.147 of the Government Code.(3) The OIG claims that the remaining requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.108, and 552.134 of the Government Code. We have considered the claimed exceptions and reviewed the submitted information. Section 552.134 of the Government Code relates to inmates of the department and provides in relevant part: (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) or by Section 552.029 [of the Government Code], information obtained or maintained by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is excepted from [required public disclosure] if it is information about an inmate who is confined in a facility operated by or under a contract with the department. Gov't Code § 552.134(a). Section 552.134 is explicitly made subject to section 552.029, which provides in relevant part the following: Notwithstanding . . . Section 552.134, the following information about an inmate who is confined in a facility operated by or under a contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is subject to required disclosure under Section 552.021: . . . (8) basic information regarding the death of an inmate in custody, an incident involving the use of force, or an alleged crime involving the inmate. Gov't Code § 552.029(8). On review, we agree that the submitted records constitute information about an inmate for purposes of section 552.134. However, the records concern the death of the inmate in custody and contains information relating to incidents involving the use of force. Thus, the department and the OIG must release basic information concerning these incidents. See Gov't Code § 552.029(8). Basic information includes the time and place of the incident, names of inmates and department officials directly involved, a brief narrative of the incident, a brief description of any injuries sustained, and information regarding criminal charges or disciplinary actions filed as a result of the incident. The department and the OIG must withhold the remaining submitted information pursuant to section 552.134. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining arguments against disclosure. 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, Jaime L. Flores
c: Mr. David D. Davis
Footnotes 1. To the extent any additional responsive information existed on the date the department received this request, we assume you have released it. If you have not released any such records, you must do so at this time. See Gov't Code §§ 552.301(a), .302; see also Open Records Decision No. 664 (2000) (if governmental body concludes that no exceptions apply to requested information, it must release information as soon as possible). 2. Open Records Letter No. 2005-01067 (2005) serves as a previous determination for the department that the present and former home addresses and telephone numbers, social security numbers, and family member information of current or former employees of the department, regardless of whether the current or former employee complies with section 552.1175 of the Government Code, are excepted from disclosure under section 552.117(a)(3) of the Government Code. 3. We note that section 552.147(b) of the Government Code authorizes a governmental body to redact a living person's social security number from public release without the necessity of requesting a decision from this office under the Act. POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB:WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |