 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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November 29, 2006 Mr. Jeffrey Moore OR2006-14009 Dear Mr. Moore: 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# 265632. The City of Murphy (the "city"), which you represent, received a request for all emails from May 15, 2006 until September 7, 2006 sent from or to ten named individuals that reference the requestor or a specified newspaper article. You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.108 and 552.137 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information. Initially, we note that some of the submitted information is not responsive to the instant request. Information that is not responsive to this request, which we have marked, need not be released. Moreover, we do not address such information in this ruling. Section 552.108(a) of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "[i]nformation held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime . . . if: (1) release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime." Generally, a governmental body claiming section 552.108 must reasonably explain how and why the release of the requested information would interfere with law enforcement. See id. §§ 552.108(a)(1), (b)(1), .301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt,551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state that the remaining information submitted as Exhibit C relates to a pending criminal investigation. Based upon this representation, we conclude that the release of this information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. 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). Thus you may withhold this information under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. You assert that the remaining information submitted as Exhibit B contains e-mail addresses obtained from the public that are excepted from disclosure under section 552.137 of the Government Code. Section 552.137 provides as follows: (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. (b) Confidential information described by this section that relates to a member of the public may be disclosed if the member of the public affirmatively consents to its release. (c) Subsection (a) does not apply to an e-mail address: (1) provided to a governmental body by a person who has a contractual relationship with the governmental body or by the contractor's agent; (2) provided to a governmental body by a vendor who seeks to contract with the governmental body or by the vendor's agent; (3) contained in a response to a request for bids or proposals, contained in a response to similar invitations soliciting offers or information relating to a potential contract, or provided to a governmental body in the course of negotiating the terms of a contract or potential contract; or (4) provided to a governmental body on a letterhead, coversheet, printed document, or other document made available to the public. (d) Subsection (a) does not prevent a governmental body from disclosing an e-mail address for any reason to another governmental body or to a federal agency. Id. § 552.137. Section 552.137 excepts from public disclosure certain e-mail addresses of members of the public that are provided for the purpose of communicating electronically with a governmental body, unless the individual to whom the e-mail address belongs has affirmatively consented to its public disclosure. The types of e-mail addresses listed in section 552.137(c) may not be withheld under this exception. Likewise, section 552.137 is not applicable to an institutional e-mail address, an Internet website address, or an e-mail address that a governmental entity maintains for one of its officials or employees. We have marked the types of e-mail addresses of members of the public that must be withheld under section 552.137 of the Government Code, unless the owner of an e-mail address has affirmatively consented to its public disclosure. Although the information at issue also contain the requestor's e-mail address, we note that section 552.137 protects personal privacy. Therefore, the requestor has a right of access to her own e-mail address under section 552.023 of the Government Code, and it may not be withheld from her under section 552.137. See id.§ 552.023(a); Open Records Decision No. 481 at 4 (1987) (privacy theories not implicated when individual requests information concerning himself). In summary, information that is not responsive to this request, which we have marked, need not be released and is not addressed in this ruling. The city may withhold the remaining information in Exhibit C under section 552.108 of the Government Code. The city must withhold the e-mail addresses marked in Exhibit B pursuant to section 552.137 of the Government Code unless the city receives consent for their release. The remaining submitted 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, Ramsey A. Abarca Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division RAA/eb Ref: ID# 265632 Enc. Submitted documents c: Ms. Angie Eisenzopf Murphy Messenger 120 East FM 544, Suite 72, PMB 136 Murphy, Texas 75094 (w/o enclosures)
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