 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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December 13, 2006 Ms. Wendy E. Ogden OR2006-14651 Dear Ms. Ogden: 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# 267130. The City of Corpus Christi (the "city") received a request for twelve categories of information regarding: complaints filed against certain Public Access Television shows and producers; the removal of specified shows; any reports made by the cable commission to the city regarding recommendations regarding Public Access Television in the past two years; documentation that each cable commission member is a subscriber to a cable communications system holding a franchise in the city; applications of each cable commission member to the city for membership in the commission. You state that you have released most of the responsive information to the requestor. However, you claim that portions of submitted information are excepted from disclosure under sections 552.117 and 552.137 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information. We have also received comments from the requestor. See Gov't Code §552.304 (interested third party may submit comments stating why requested information should or should not be released). Section 552.117(a)(1) excepts from disclosure the home addresses and telephone numbers, social security numbers, and family member information of current or former officials or employees of a governmental body who request that this information be kept confidential under section 552.024 of the Government Code. Id. §§552.024, .117(a)(1). Whether a particular piece of information is protected by section 552.117(a)(1) must be determined at the time the request for it is made. See Open Records Decision No. 530 at 5 (1989). You inform us, and provide documentation indicating, that the officials at issue made timely elections for confidentiality under section 552.024. Therefore, the city must withhold the information you have marked pursuant to section 552.117(a)(1) of the Government Code. Section 552.137 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "an e-mail address of a member of the public that is provided for the purpose of communicating electronically with a governmental body" unless the member of the public consents to its release or the e-mail address is of a type specifically excluded by subsection (c). See Gov't Code § 552.137(a)-(c). The e-mail addresses at issue do not appear to be of a type specifically excluded by section 552.137(c). Therefore, the city must withhold the marked e-mail addresses in accordance with section 552.137 unless the city receives consent for their release. In summary, the city must withhold the personal information that you have marked under section 552.117(a)(1) of the Government Code. The city must also withhold the e-mail addresses you have marked in accordance with section 552.137 unless the city receives consent for their release. The remaining information must be released to the requestor. 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, Amy L.S. Shipp Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division ALS/jww Ref: ID# 267130 Enc. Submitted documents c: Mr. Mark Di Carlo Attorney at Law 722 Elizabeth Street Corpus Christi, Texas 78405 (w/o enclosures)
POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |