 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
|
July 7, 2006 Ms. Mia M. Martin
OR2006-07196 Dear Ms. Martin: 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# 253379. The Richardson Independent School District (the "district") received two requests from the same requestor for (1) the VIN numbers of every district motor vehicle and trailer; (2) the addresses of the storage lots that keep the motor vehicles and trailers; (3) the titles of every motor vehicle and trailer; and (4) the names of all district principals and their insurance coverage information. You state that you have released a portion of the responsive information to the requestor. You also state that the district has previously provided the requestor with information responsive to a portion of the request, and the requestor has been notified of this fact pursuant to section 552.232 of the Government Code. See Gov't Code § 552.232 (governmental body shall certify to requestor that copies of all or part of requested information, as applicable, were previously furnished to requestor). You claim that a portion of the submitted information is 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 representative sample of information.(1) Section 552.130 of the Government Code provides as follows: (a) Information is excepted from [required public disclosure] if the information relates to: (1) a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license or permit issued by an agency of this state; (2) a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state; or (3) a personal identification document issued by an agency of this state or a local agency authorized to issue an identification document. (b) Information described by Subsection (a) may be released only if, and in the manner, authorized by Chapter 730, Transportation Code. Gov't Code § 552.130. Because the submitted Texas Certificate of Title relates to a motor vehicle title or registration, the district must withhold this document in its entirety under section 552.130. In addition, the district must withhold the remaining Texas motor vehicle record information that you have marked.(2) 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, 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, Margaret Cecere
c: Mr. Dallas Wayne Scott
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 2. As our ruling 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 |