December 12, 2008

Ms. Leticia D. McGowan

School Attorney

Dallas Independent School District

3700 Ross Avenue

Dallas, Texas 75204-5491

OR2008-16984

Dear Ms. McGowan:

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# 330015.

The Dallas Independent School District (the "district") received a request for the names, cellular telephone numbers, places of work, and job titles of employees who have cellular telephones paid for by the district or who receive stipends to pay for cellular telephones. You state you have provided most of the requested information to the requestor. You claim the submitted cellular telephone numbers are excepted from disclosure under section 552.117 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.117(a)(1) excepts from disclosure the current and former home addresses and telephone numbers, social security numbers, and family member information of current or former officials or employees of a governmental body who request this information be kept confidential under section 552.024 of the Government Code. Gov't Code § 552.117(a)(1). Additionally, section 552.117 encompasses personal cellular telephone numbers, provided the cellular telephone service is paid for by the employee with his or her own funds. See Open Records Decision No. 670 at 6 (2001) (extending section 552.117(a)(1) exception to personal cellular telephone number and personal pager number of employee who elects to withhold home telephone number in accordance with section 552.024). Whether information is protected by section 552.117(a)(1) must be determined at the time the request for it is made. See Open Records Decision No. 530 at 5 (1989).

In Open Records Decision No. 670, this office addressed the issue of a governmental body reimbursing an employee for business calls made using the employee's personal cellular telephone in relation to the protection afforded to personal cellular telephone numbers under section 552.117. ORD 670 at 6. In that decision, we ruled although the reimbursement documentation would be subject to release under section 552.022(a)(3) of the Government Code, the personal cellular telephone number listed in the reimbursement documentation would be confidential under section 552.117. Id. You state the submitted cellular telephone numbers belong to employees who receive stipends from the district to pay for the cellular telephone service associated with the cellular telephone numbers. You explain the employees obtain the cellular telephones and enter into personal contracts with the cellular service providers. You further explain the employees are responsible for paying the cellular service bills, and if the stipends do not pay for the full amounts of the bills, the employees must pay the differences from their own funds. Thus, we understand the district's stipends reimburse the employees for the employees' use of their personal cellular telephones to make work-related calls. Therefore, based on your representations and our review, we find the district must withhold the submitted cellular telephone numbers pursuant to section 552.117(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). If the governmental body does not file suit over 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,

Leah B. Wingerson

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

LBW/ma

Ref: ID# 330015

Enc. Submitted documents

cc: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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