 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
 |
April 20, 2007 Mr. Scott A. Kelly OR2007-04508 Dear Mr. Kelly: 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# 276531. Tarleton State University Police Department (the "department") received a request for all police reports that "the university is required to disclose under Clery." You state that, with the exception of the information you have highlighted, you will release the basic information from the police report in Exhibit C. See Gov't Code § 552.108(c)(stating that basic information about arrested person, arrest, or crime may not be withheld under Gov't Code § 552.108); see also 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); Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information deemed public by Houston Chronicle). You claim, however, that the remaining submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.108, 552.119, 552.130, and 552.137 of the Government Code. (1) We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information. Section 552.108(a) of the Governmental 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 Gov't Code §§ 552.108(a)(1), .301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state that the police report in Exhibit C relates to a pending criminal investigation. Based upon this representation, we conclude that the release of the information you have highlighted would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. See Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co., 531 S.W.2d 177 (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases). Accordingly, the department may withhold the information you have highlighted in Exhibit C under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. (2) You claim that the photograph of an officer in Exhibit D is excepted from public disclosure under section 552.119 of the Government Code. Section 552.119 provides: (a) A photograph that depicts a peace officer as defined by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, the release of which would endanger the life or physical safety of the officer, is excepted from [required public disclosure] unless: (1) the officer is under indictment or charged with an offense by information; (2) the officer is a party in a civil service hearing or a case in arbitration; or (3) the photograph is introduced as evidence in a judicial proceeding. (b) A photograph excepted from disclosure under Subsection (a) may be made public only if the peace officer gives written consent to the disclosure. Gov't Code § 552.119. Under section 552.119, a governmental body must demonstrate, if the documents do not demonstrate on their face, that release of the photograph would endanger the life or physical safety of a peace officer. In this instance, you have not submitted any arguments explaining how the release of the picture at issue would endanger the life or physical safety of the officer depicted. We therefore determine that the department may not withhold this picture under section 552.119 of the Government Code. You claim that portions of Exhibits C and D are excepted from public disclosure under section 552.130 of the Government Code. In relevant part, section 552.130 provides: (a) Information is excepted from required public disclosure if the information relates to: (1) a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license or permit issued by an agency of this state; [or] (2) a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state[.] Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(1), (2). Upon review, we agree that you must withhold the Texas-issued motor vehicle record information you have highlighted and marked in Exhibits C and D under section 552.130 of the Government Code. You claim that the e-mail addresses you have highlighted in Exhibit D are excepted from public disclosure under section 552.137 of the Government Code. Section 552.137 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 are not the type specifically excluded by section 552.137(c). Therefore, unless the individuals whose e-mail addresses are at issue consented to release of their e-mail addresses, the department must withhold them in accordance with section 552.137 of the Government Code. In summary, the department may withhold the information you have highlighted in Exhibit C under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. The department must withhold the information you highlighted and marked in Exhibits C and D under section 552.130 of the Government Code. Unless the individuals whose e-mail addresses are at issue consented to release of their e-mail addresses, the department must withhold them in accordance with section 552.137 of the Government Code. As the department does not raise any other exceptions against disclosure, the remaining 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, Jaclyn N. Thompson Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division JNT/jb Ref: ID# 276531 Enc. Submitted documents c: Mr. Dameon K. Myres c/o Scott A. Kelly Deputy General Counsel The Texas A&M University System A&M System Building, Suite 2079 200 Technology Way College Station, Texas 77845-3424 (w/o enclosures)
1. We note that the department has marked social security numbers in the submitted information.
Section 552.147 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 |