 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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November 2, 2006 Ms. M. Ann Montgomery
OR2006-12965 Dear Ms. Montgomery: 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# 267229. The Ellis County and District Attorney's Office received a request for information relating to the requestor's arrest. You claim that some of the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.103, 552.108, 552.130, and 552.147 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and have reviewed the information you submitted. Section 552.108 of the Government Code excepts from public disclosure "[i]nformation held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime . . . if . . . release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime[.]" Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). A governmental body that claims an exception to disclosure under section 552.108 must reasonably explain how and why this exception is applicable to the information at issue. See id. § 552.301(e)(1)(A); Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You have marked the information that the district attorney seeks to withhold under section 552.108. You state that the marked information relates to a pending case. Based on your representation, we conclude that the marked information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108(a)(1). See Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976) (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases). Section 552.130 of the Government Code excepts from public disclosure information that relates to a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license or permit or a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state. See Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(1)-(2). In this instance, the information that you seek to withhold under section 552.130 relates to the requestor's Texas driver's license and motor vehicle. Because section 552.130 protects personal privacy, the requestor has a special right of access to his own driver's license and motor vehicle information under section 552.023 of the Government Code. See Gov't Code § 552.023(a); Open Records Decision No. 481 at 4 (1987) (privacy theories not implicated when individual requests information concerning himself).(1) Therefore, you may not withhold the requestor's driver's license and motor vehicle information under section 552.130. The remaining information also includes the arrested person's social security number. Section 552.147 of the Government Code provides that "[t]he social security number of a living person is excepted from" required public disclosure under the Act. Gov't Code § 552.147(a). Because this exception also protects personal privacy, the requestor has a right of access to his own social security number under section 552.023, and you may not withhold that information under section 552.147. In summary, the information marked for withholding under section 552.108 of the Government Code is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108(a)(1). The rest of the submitted information must be released.(2) As we are able to make these determinations, we do not address your other 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, James W. Morris, III
c: Mr. Jimmy Smitherman
Footnotes 1. Section 552.023(a) provides that "[a] person or a person's authorized representative has a special right of access, beyond the right of the general public, to information held by a governmental body that relates to the person and that is protected from public disclosure by laws intended to protect that person's privacy interests." Gov't Code § 552.023(a). 2. Should you receive another request for these same records from a person who would not have a right of access to the arrested person's private information, you should resubmit these records and request another decision. See Gov't Code §§ 552.301(a), .302. POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB:WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |