 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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January 22, 2007 Mr. Denis C. McElroy OR2007-00639 Dear Mr. McElroy: 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# 269397. The City of Fort Worth (the "city") received a request for all police reports from the past two years for a particular apartment complex at a specified address. You state that some of the responsive information will be released to the requestor. You further state that the city has redacted social security numbers pursuant to section 552.147 of the Government Code. (1) You claim that portions of the submitted information are 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 information. Initially, we note that the information submitted by the city includes Texas motor vehicle record information. In Open Records Letter Nos. 2006-14726 (2006) and 2007-00198 (2007), we issued previous determinations that authorize the city to withhold (1) a Texas driver's license number; (2) a Texas-issued state identification number; (3) a Texas license plate number; (4) a Texas license year of a motor vehicle; (5) class designations; (6) restrictions; (7) expiration dates; (8) license years for Texas-issued driver's licenses of living individuals; and (9) vehicle identification numbers relating to a title or registration issued by an agency of the State of Texas in which a living individual owns an interest under section 552.130 of the Government Code without the necessity of again requesting an attorney general decision with regard to the applicability of this exception. See Gov't Code § 552.301(a); Open Records Decision No. 673 at 7-8 (2001) (delineating elements of second type of previous determination under Gov't Code § 552.301(a)). Thus, the city must withhold the Texas motor vehicle record information it has marked in accordance with Open Records Letter Nos. 2006-14726 and 2007-00198. 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 other statutes make confidential. Section 58.007 of the Family Code provides in part as follows: (c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), law enforcement records and files concerning a child and information stored, by electronic means or otherwise, concerning the child from which a record or file could be generated may not be disclosed to the public and shall be: (1) if maintained on paper or microfilm, kept separate from adult files and records; (2) if maintained electronically in the same computer system as records or files relating to adults, be accessible under controls that are separate and distinct from controls to access electronic data concerning adults; and (3) maintained on a local basis only and not sent to a central state or federal depository, except as provided by Subchapter B. Fam. Code § 58.007(c). We have reviewed the submitted information and agree that reports 06-47762, 06-92416, 06-107133, and 06-124492 involve juvenile conduct that occurred after September 1, 1997. It does not appear that any of the exceptions in section 58.007 apply. Thus, we agree that these reports are confidential pursuant to section 58.007(c) of the Family Code and must be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code. You also raise section 552.101 in conjunction with section 261.201 of the Family Code. Chapter 261 of the Family Code is applicable to information that relates to reports and investigations of alleged or suspected child abuse or neglect. Section 261.201 provides in part: (a) The following information is confidential, is not subject to public release under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may be disclosed only for purposes consistent with this code and applicable federal or state law or under rules adopted by an investigating agency: (1) a report of alleged or suspected abuse or neglect made under this chapter and the identity of the person making the report; and (2) except as otherwise provided in this section, the files, reports, records, communications, audiotapes, videotapes, and working papers used or developed in an investigation under this chapter or in providing services as a result of an investigation. Fam. Code § 261.201(a); see also id. § 261.001(1), (4) (defining "abuse" and "neglect" for purposes of Fam. Code ch. 261). You raise section 261.201 for report 06-66723. Because this information consists of files, reports, records, communications, or working papers used or developed in an investigation under chapter 261, the information is within the scope of section 261.201 of the Family Code. You have not indicated that the city has adopted a rule that governs the release of this type of information. Therefore, we assume that no such regulation exists. Given that assumption, report 06-66723 is confidential pursuant to section 261.201 of the Family Code, and must be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code. Section 552.101 also encompasses the doctrine of common-law privacy. Common-law privacy protects information if (1) the information contains highly intimate or embarrassing facts the publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person, and (2) the information is not of legitimate concern to the public. Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668, 685 (Tex. 1976). The type of information considered intimate and embarrassing by the Texas Supreme Court in Industrial Foundation included information relating to sexual assault, pregnancy, mental or physical abuse in the workplace, illegitimate children, psychiatric treatment of mental disorders, attempted suicide, and injuries to sexual organs. 540 S.W.2d at 683. Accordingly, the city must withhold the information you have marked under section 552.101 in conjunction with common-law privacy. In summary, the city must withhold the marked information under section 552.130 of the Government Code in accordance with the previous determination issued in Open Records Letter No. 2006-14726 (2006). The city must also withhold the following in conjunction with section 552.101 of the Government Code: (1) reports 06-47762, 06-92416, 06-107113, and 06-124492 pursuant to section 58.007 of the Family Code; (2) report 06-66723 pursuant to section 261.201 of the Family Code; and (3) the information you have marked under common-law privacy. 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/krl Ref: ID# 269397 Enc. Submitted documents c: Ms. Tiffany Green 8101 Chandra Lane Apt., 1033 Fort Worth, Texas 76134 (w/o enclosures) Footnotes1. 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.
POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |