 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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August 27, 2007 Ms. Jerris Penrod Mapes OR2007-11053 Dear Ms. Mapes: 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# 287585. The City of Killeen (the "city") received a request for TCIC and NCIC information and an incident report that occurred between a specified time period and involved the requestor and a named individual. You state that you have released a portion of the requested information to the requestor. You also state that the city has no documents responsive to a portion of the request. We note that the Act does not require a governmental body to disclose information that did not exist at the time the request was received. Econ. Opportunities Dev. Corp. v. Bustamante, 562 S.W.2d 266 (Tex.Civ.App.--San Antonio 1978, writ dism'd); Open Records Decision No. 452 at 3 (1986). You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information. You state that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108(a)(2). Section 552.108(a)(2) excepts from disclosure information concerning an investigation that concluded in a result other than conviction or deferred adjudication. Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(2). A governmental body claiming section 552.108(a)(2) must demonstrate that the requested information relates to a criminal investigation that has concluded in a final result other than a conviction or deferred adjudication. You state that the submitted information pertains to a criminal investigation that has been concluded by the Killeen Police Department (the "department") and that the department does not anticipate filing any charges in this case in the future. You state that, therefore, the investigation has concluded in a result other than conviction or deferred adjudication. Based on these representations, we agree that section 552.108(a)(2) is applicable to this information. (1) You state that you have released basic information. Section 552.108 does not except from disclosure basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime. Gov't Code § 552.108(c). Basic information refers to the information held to be public in Houston Chronicle Publishing 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), and includes a detailed description of the offense. With the exception of basic information, the department may withhold the submitted information under section 552.108(a)(2). (2) 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, Jordan Johnson Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division JJ/jb Ref: ID# 287585 Enc. Submitted documents c: Ms. Michelle Hopson 307 Spring Hollow Cove Killeen, Texas 76543 (w/o enclosures)
1. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining argument against disclosure.
We note that some of the basic information being released is confidential and not subject to release
to the general public. However, the requestor in this instance has a special right of access to the information.
Gov't Code § 552.023 (person or person's authorized representative has special right of access to records that
contain information relating to the person that are protected from public disclosure by laws intended to protect
that person's privacy interests). Because such information may be confidential with respect to the general
public, if the city receives another request for this information from an individual other than this requestor, the
city should again seek our decision. POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |