 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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March 7, 2007 Mr. John C. West OR2007-02616 Dear 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#273398. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Office of Inspector General (the "OIG") received a request for information relating to the death of a named inmate, the number of inmates that have died at the specified prison unit within the last three years, and for specific information regarding the death of the requestor's husband. You state that basic information in the responsive information and the custodial death report of the deceased inmate will be released to the requestor with redactions pursuant to the previous determination issued by this office in Open Records Ruling 2005-01067 (2005). (1) You also state that the social security numbers contained in the responsive information will be redacted pursuant to section 552.147 of the Government Code. (2) You claim that the remainder of the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.108, and 552.134 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information. Initially, we note that you have only submitted information regarding the death of the named
inmate for our review. To the extent any additional responsive information existed on the
date the department received this request, we assume it has been released. (3)
If not, you must
do so at this time. See Gov't Code § 552.006, .301, .302; see Open Records Decision
No. 664 (2000) (noting that if the governmental body concludes that no exceptions apply to
requested information, it must release the information as soon as possible). Section 552.134 of the Government Code relates to inmates of the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice (the "department") and provides in relevant part: (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 552.029 of the Government Code provides: Notwithstanding Section 508.313 or 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). The information submitted by the OIG concerns an inmate who was
confined in a facility operated by the department. Section 552.134 is explicitly made subject
to section 552.029 of the Government Code. Under section 552.029, basic information
regarding the death of an inmate in custody, an alleged crime involving an inmate, and an
incident involving the use of force is subject to required disclosure. 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 information at issue relates to the investigation of the death of an inmate
in custody. Accordingly, with the exception of basic information that must be released
pursuant to section 552.029(8), the OIG must withhold the submitted information under
section 552.134 of the Government Code. As our ruling is dispositve, we need not address
your other arguments against disclosure. (4) 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, Lori A. Cobos Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division LC/eb Ref: ID# 273398 Enc. Submitted documents c: Ms. Deborah Tabaka Vick 948 Myrta Street Kerrville, Texas 78028 (w/o enclosures)
1. Open Records Letter No. 2005-01067 (2005) serves as a previous determination that the present and
former home addresses, telephone numbers, social security numbers, and family member information of current
or former employees of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (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.
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).
We note that a governmental body is not required to answer factual questions, conduct legal research,
or create new information in responding to a request. See Open Records Decision Nos. 563 at 8 (1990),555
at 1-2 (1990). However, a governmental body must make a good faith effort to relate a request to information
held by the governmental body. See Open Records Decision No.561 at 8 (1990). POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |