April 2, 2008

Mr. Jason Day

City Attorney

City of Royse City

P.O. Box 638

Royse City, Texas 75189

OR2008-04265

Dear Mr. Day:

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# 306166.

The Royse City Police Department (the "department") received a request for information pertaining to a specified case. You state that you have redacted social security numbers pursuant to section 552.147 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ You also state you have released some information to the requestor. However, you argue that the remaining information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.108, and 552.130 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

The department argues the information marked in black must be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code, which 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 chapter 411 of the Government Code, which deems confidential criminal history record information ("CHRI") generated by the National Crime Information Center or by the Texas Crime Information Center. CHRI is defined as "information collected about a person by a criminal justice agency that consists of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, informations, and other formal criminal charges and their dispositions." Gov't Code § 411.082(2). Title 28, part 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations governs the release of CHRI that states obtain from the federal government or other states. Open Records Decision No. 565 (1990). The federal regulations allow each state to follow its individual law with respect to CHRI it generates. Id. Section 411.083 of the Government Code deems confidential CHRI that DPS maintains, except that DPS may disseminate this information as provided in chapter 411, subchapter F of the Government Code. See Gov't Code § 411.083. Sections 411.083(b)(1) and 411.089(a) authorize a criminal justice agency to obtain CHRI; however, a criminal justice agency may not release CHRI except to another criminal justice agency for a criminal justice purpose. Id. § 411.089(b)(1). Other entities specified in chapter 411 of the Government Code are entitled to obtain CHRI from DPS or another criminal justice agency; however, those entities may not release CHRI except as provided by chapter 411. See generally id. §§ 411.090 - .127. Furthermore, any CHRI obtained from DPS or any other criminal justice agency must be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with Government Code chapter 411, subchapter F. See Gov't Code § 411.082(2)(B) (term CHRI does not include driving record information). Therefore, the department must withhold the CHRI that we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with federal law and chapter 411 of the Government Code. However, we note that an individual's current involvement in the criminal justice system does not constitute criminal history information for purposes of section 552.101. Accordingly, we conclude that none of the remaining information at issue is confidential under chapter 411 and therefore may not be withheld under section 552.101 on this basis.

Next, the department argues the information it has marked may be withheld under section 552.108 of the Government Code. 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: (1) release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime." Gov't Code § 552.108(a). 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 responsive documents relate to a pending criminal case. Based upon this representation, we conclude that the release of the marked information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. See 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) (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases). We therefore agree that section 552.108(a)(1) is generally applicable to the marked information.

As you acknowledge, 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, 531 S.W.2d 177. See Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information considered to be basic information). We note that some of the information you seek to withhold under section 552.108, including information pertaining to the property involved, constitutes basic information for purposes of Houston Chronicle. Thus, with the exception of the basic front page offense information, the department may withhold the information you have marked under section 552.108.

Finally, the department argues the information it has marked in red must be withheld under section 552.130 of the Government Code, which excepts from disclosure "information [that] relates to a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license or permit issued by an agency of this state [or] a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state." Gov't Code § 552.130(a). We note that section 552.130 only applies to Texas motor vehicle record information. Therefore, the department may not withhold out-of-state motor vehicle record information on this basis. Accordingly, the department must withhold the Texas-issued driver's license numbers we have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code.

In summary, the department must withhold the CHRI we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with federal law and chapter 411 of the Government Code. With the exception of basic information, the department may withhold the information it has marked pursuant to section 552.108 of the Government Code. Finally, the department must withhold the Texas driver's license numbers we have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code. 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 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,

Chanita Chantaplin-McLelland

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

CC/mcf

Ref: ID# 306166

Enc. Submitted documents

cc: Mr. Luis Aran, Sr.

P.O. Box 1692

Dunnellon, Florida 34430

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Section 552.147(b) 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. Gov't Code § 552.147.

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