 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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August 23, 2006 Ms. Carla M. Cordova
Mr. John C. West
OR2006-09726 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# 257564. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (the "department") received a request for information pertaining to a deceased inmate. The department's Office of the General Counsel (the "OGC") and its Office of the Inspector General (the "OIG") have submitted separate briefs, as well as separate documents that each seeks to withhold from disclosure. The OGC claims that the information it has submitted is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.134 of the Government Code. The OIG states that it will release basic information regarding the death in custody investigation and the custodial death report, with redactions pursuant to the previous determination issued by this office in Open Records Letter No. 2005-01067 (2005).(1) The OIG also states that it is withholding social security numbers under section 552.147 of the Government Code.(2) The OIG claims that the remaining responsive information it has submitted is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.108, and 552.134 of the Government Code. We have considered the submitted arguments and have 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." Gov't Code § 552.101. This section encompasses information protected by other statutes. The OGC and the OIG claim that some of the submitted information consists of medical records, access to which is governed by the Medical Practices Act ("MPA"). Occ. Code §§ 151.001-165.160. Section 159.002 of the MPA provides in part: (a) A communication between a physician and a patient, relative to or in connection with any professional services as a physician to the patient, is confidential and privileged and may not be disclosed except as provided by this chapter. (b) A record of the identity, diagnosis, evaluation, or treatment of a patient by a physician that is created or maintained by a physician is confidential and privileged and may not be disclosed except as provided by this chapter. (c) A person who receives information from a confidential communication or record as described by this chapter, other than a person listed in Section 159.004 who is acting on the patient's behalf, may not disclose the information except to the extent that disclosure is consistent with the authorized purposes for which the information was first obtained. Id. § 159.002(a)-(c). This office has concluded that the protection afforded by section 159.002 extends only to records created by either a physician or someone under the supervision of a physician.(3) See Open Records Decision Nos. 487 (1987), 370 (1983), 343 (1982). Furthermore, we have concluded that when a file is created as the result of a hospital stay, all of the documents in the file that relate to diagnosis and treatment constitute either physician-patient communications or records of the identity, diagnosis, evaluation, or treatment of a patient by a physician that are created or maintained by a physician. See Open Records Decision No. 546 (1990). Medical records must be released upon the patient's signed, written consent, provided that the consent specifies (1) the information to be covered by the release, (2) reasons or purposes for the release, and (3) the person to whom the information is to be released. See Occ. Code §§ 159.004, .005. §§ 159.005. When a patient is deceased, medical records may be released only on the signed consent of the deceased's personal representative. See id. § 159.005(a)(5). The consent in that instance must specify (1) the information to be covered by the release, (2) reasons or purposes for the release, and (3) the person to whom the information is to be released. See id. §§ 159.004, .005. Any subsequent release of medical records must be consistent with the purposes for which the governmental body obtained the records. See id. § 159.002(c); Open Records Decision No. 565 at 7 (1990). We have marked the medical records that are subject to the MPA. The OGC and the OIG may only disclose these records in accordance with the access provisions of the MPA. Absent the applicability of an MPA access provision, the OGC and the OIG must withhold these records pursuant to the MPA. See Open Records Decision No. 598 (1991). We turn now to the OCG's and OIG's claims regarding section 552.134 of the Government Code for the remaining submitted information. Section 552.134(a) relates to inmates of the department and provides in relevant part the following: (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. Id. § 552.029(8). Upon review, we agree that the records at issue constitute information about an inmate for purposes of section 552.134. However, some of these records concern the death of an inmate in custody. Thus, the OCG and the OIG must release basic information concerning this death Id. 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 OCG and the OIG must withhold the remaining submitted information pursuant to section 552.134.(4) In summary, the OCG and the OIG may only disclose the marked medical records in accordance with the access provisions of the MPA. With the exception of information that must be released under section 552.029(8), the OCG and OIG must withhold the remaining submitted information pursuant to section 552.134. 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, Tamara L. Harswick
c: Ms. Misty Mosier
Footnotes 1. Open Records Letter No. 2005-01067 (2005) serves as a previous determination 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. 2. 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. Gov't Code § 552.147(b). 3. We note that the submitted information includes a nurse's notes regarding evaluation and treatment of the inmate in question. You inform us that a licensed vocational nurse for the department performs his or her duties under the express authority of a practicing physician. 4. As our ruling is dispositive, we do not address the OGC's and OIG's remaining arguments against disclosure, except to note that the information that is subject to section 552.029(8) corresponds to the basic front-page information that is made public under section 552.108(c). See Gov't Code § 552.108(c); Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177, 186-188 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975), writ ref'd n.r.e., 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976) (per curiam); Open Records Decision No. 127 at 3-4 (1976) (summarizing types of information deemed public in Houston Chronicle). POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB:WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |