 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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February 14, 2008 Mr. John C. West General Counsel Texas Department of Criminal Justice P. O. Box 13084 Austin, Texas 78711 OR2008-02147 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 #302587. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Office of the Inspector General (the "OIG") received a request for the requestor's client's medical records and disciplinary file. The OIG states that it is releasing some of the requested information with redactions pursuant to the previous determination issued by this office in Open Records Letter No. 2005-01067 (2005). (1) You claim that the submitted case file is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.103, 552.108, 552.134, and 552.147 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information. Initially, we note that some of the submitted information, which we have marked, is not responsive to the instant request because it was created after the request was received. The department need not release non-responsive information in response to this request, and this ruling will not address that information. We next note that one of the documents at issue is a medical record of the requestor's client, access to which is governed by the Medical Practice Act (the "MPA"), subtitle B of title 3 of the Occupations Code. Section 159.002 of the MPA provides in part the following: (b) A record of the identity, diagnosis, evaluation, or treatment of a patient by a physician that is created or maintained by a physician is confidential and privileged and may not be disclosed except as provided by this chapter. (c) A person who receives information from a confidential communication or record as described by this chapter, other than a person listed in Section 159.004 who is acting on the patient's behalf, may not disclose the information except to the extent that disclosure is consistent with the authorized purposes for which the information was first obtained. Occ. Code § 159.002(b), (c). Medical records must be released upon the patient's signed, written consent, provided that the consent specifies (1) the information to be covered by the release, (2) reasons or purposes for the release, and (3) the person to whom the information is to be released. Id. §§ 159.004, 159.005. Section 159.002(c) also requires that any subsequent release of medical records be consistent with the purposes for which the governmental body obtained the records. Open Records Decision No. 565 at 7 (1990). Medical records may be released only as provided under the MPA. Open Records Decision No. 598 (1991). We have marked the portion of the submitted information that constitutes a medical record and that may only be released in accordance with the MPA. Section 552.108(a) of the Government 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 . . . release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime[.]" Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). 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 id. §§ 552(a)(1), .301(e)(1)(A); Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). The OIG states that the case file submitted within "Exhibit C" relates to a pending criminal investigation. Based on this representation and our review of Exhibit C, we conclude that the release of this information would interfere with the detection, investigation, and prosecution of crime. See Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14thDist.] 1975), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976) (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases). We note, and you acknowledge, that basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime is not excepted from disclosure under section 552.108. Gov't Code § 552.108(c). Such basic information refers to the information held to be public in Houston Chronicle. See 531 S.W.2d at 186-187; Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information considered to be basic information). Thus, with the exception of basic information, which you state will be released to the requestor, the OIG may withhold Exhibit C under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining arguments against disclosure. (2) In summary, the OIG may only release the marked medical records in accordance with the MPA. Except for basic information, the OIG may withhold the remaining information under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government 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 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, Reg Hargrove Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division RJH/eeg Ref: ID# 302587 Enc. Submitted documents c: Mr. Oscar A. Vela, Jr. 1800 Victoria Street Laredo, Texas 78040 (w/o enclosures)
1. Open Records Letter No. 2005-01067 serves as a previous determination that the present and former
home addresses and telephone numbers, social security numbers, and family member information of current
or former employees fo the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, 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.
2. We note, and you acknowledge, that Exhibit C contains confidential information that is not subject
to release to the general public. See Gov't Code § 552.352. However, the requestor in this instance has a
special right of access to his client's own information. Gov't Code § 552.023. Because some of the information
is confidential with respect to the general public, if the OIG receives a future request for this information from
an individual other than this requestor or his client, the OIG should again seek our decision.
POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |