 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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July 13, 2007 Mr. Nathan C. Barrow OR2007-08906 Dear Mr. Barrow: 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# 283719. The City of Fort Worth (the "city") received a two requests from the same individual. The first request received by the city on April 19, 2007 seeks report number 9935094. The second request, received on April 20, 2007, seeks all information pertaining to the named individual. You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information. We have also considered comments submitted by the requestor. See Gov't Code § 552.304 (interested party may submit comments stating why information should or should not be released). We note that one of the requests seeks a specified incident report. You have not submitted this report. To the extent that the specified report number 9935094 existed on the date the city received this request, we assume you have released it. If you have not released any such report, then you must do so at this time. See id. §§ 552.301(a), .302; see also Open Records Decision No. 664 (2000) (if governmental body concludes that no exceptions apply to requested information, it must release information as soon as possible). Section 552.101 excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. Section 552.101 encompasses information made confidential by other statutes, such as section 58.007 of the Family Code. The relevant language of section 58.007(c) reads 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). The information in Exhibit D consists of law enforcement records of a juvenile who engaged in delinquent conduct after September 1, 1997. See id. § 51.03 (defining "delinquent conduct" for purposes of Fam. Code § 58.007). You do not indicate, nor does it appear, that any of the exceptions in section 58.007 apply to the information in the exhibit; therefore, Exhibit D is confidential under section 58.007(c) of the Family Code and must be withheld in its entirety under section 552.101 of the Government Code. Section 552.101 also exception encompasses section 261.201 of the Family Code. Section 261.201(a) provides as follows: (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 [the Family 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 [chapter 261 of the Family Code] and the identity of the person making the report; and (2) except as otherwise provided in this section, the files, reports, records, communications, and working papers used or developed in an investigation under [chapter 261 of the Family Code] or in providing services as a result of an investigation. Id. § 261.201(a). You state that Exhibit C was developed and used in an investigation of alleged or suspected child abuse. See id. §§ 261.001(1) (defining "abuse" for the purposes of chapter 261 of the Family Code); see also id. § 101.003(a) (defining "child" for purposes of this section as person under 18 years of age who is not and has not been married or who has not had the disabilities of minority removed for general purposes). You do not indicate 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, Exhibit C is confidential pursuant to section 261.201 of the Family Code. See Open Records Decision No. 440 at 2 (1986) (predecessor statute). Accordingly, the city must withhold Exhibit C from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code as information made confidential by law. In summary, you must withhold Exhibit D under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 58.007 of the Family Code. You must withhold Exhibit C under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 261.201 of the Family Code. 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, Justin D. Gordon Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division JDG/eeg Ref: ID# 283719 Enc. Submitted documents c: Ms. Lindi DelVal 4043 Tortoise Lane Fort Worth, Texas 76135 (w/o enclosures)
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