 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
 |
November 30, 2007 Mr. Miguel A. Saldana OR2007-15809 Dear Mr. Saldana: 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# 296105. The Brownsville Independent School District (the "district"), which you represent, received a request for information pertaining to two specified incidents. You claim that the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.108, and 552.135 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information. Initially, we note that you have redacted portions of the submitted information. You do not assert, nor does our review of our records indicate, that the district has been authorized to withhold any such information without seeking a ruling from this office. See Gov't Code § 552.301(a); Open Records Decision 673 (2000). Because we can discern the nature of the information that has been redacted, being deprived of this information does not inhibit our ability to make a ruling in this instance. Nevertheless, be advised that a failure to provide this office with requested information generally deprives us of the ability to determine whether information may be withheld and leaves this office with no alternative other than ordering that the redacted information be released. See Gov't Code §§ 552.301(e)(1)(D) (governmental body must provide this office with copy of "specific information requested"), .302. Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Id. § 552.101. This section encompasses information that other statutes make confidential. You raise sections 58.005 and 58.106 of the Family Code. Section 58.005 of the Family Code provides that "[r]ecords and files concerning a child, including personally identifiable information, and information obtained for the purpose of diagnosis, examination, evaluation, or treatment or for making a referral for treatment of a child by a public or private agency or institution providing supervision of a child by arrangement of the juvenile court or having custody of the child under order of the juvenile court may be disclosed only to [certain listed individuals]." Fam. Code § 58.005 (a). In this instance, the information at issue consists of law enforcement records maintained by the district. The district is not the type of facility contemplated by section 58.005 (a). Thus, the information at issue is not confidential under section 58.005 of the Family Code. Section 552.101 also encompasses section 58.106 of the Family Code. We note that Subchapter B of chapter 58 of the Family Code, which contains section 58.106, pertains to the administration of the juvenile justice information system by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Because the records at issue were not requested from the Texas Department of Public Safety, we conclude that section 58.106 of the Family Code is not applicable in this instance. We note, however, that the submitted information is confidential under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 58.007 of the Family Code. Section 58.007 pertains to records involving juvenile offenders relating to delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision that occurred on or after September 1, 1997. See id. § 51.03 (defining "delinquent conduct" and "conduct indicating a need for supervision"). 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. Id. § 58.007(c). For purposes of section 58.007, "child" means a person who is ten years of age or older and under seventeen years of age. See id. § 51.02(2). The submitted information involves juvenile conduct that occurred after September 1, 1997. It does not appear that any of the exceptions in section 58.007 apply. Therefore, we find that the submitted information is confidential pursuant to section 58.007(c) of the Family Code and must be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code. (1) 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 file suit in Travis County within 30 calendar days. Id. § 552.324(b). In order to get the full benefit of such a challenge, 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 challenge 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, Paige Savoie Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division PS/ma Ref: ID# 296105 Enc. Submitted documents c: Ms. Irma Aldape 2243 El Rio Street Brownsville, Texas 78520 (w/o enclosures) Footnotes1. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining arguments against disclosure.
POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |