 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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March 25, 2009 Mr. C. Patrick Phillips Assistant City Attorney City of Fort Worth 1000 Throckmorton Street, 3rd Floor Fort Worth, Texas 76102 OR2009-03869 Dear Mr. Phillips: 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# 338615 (FW ID# 1480-09). The City of Fort Worth (the "city") received a request for incident report numbers 07-131101 and 08-67914. You state you will release report number 08-67914. You state that the city has redacted certain Texas motor vehicle record information pursuant to the previous determinations issued to the city in Open Records Letter Nos. 2006-14726 (2006) and 2007-00198 (2007). See Gov't Code § 552.301(a); Open Records Decision No. 673 at 7-8 (2001). In addition, you state that the city has redacted social security numbers pursuant to section 552.147 of the Government Code. See Gov't Code § 552.147(b) (governmental body may redact social security number without necessity of requesting decision from this office under the Act). You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information. Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. This exception encompasses information other statutes make confidential, such as section 58.007 of the Family Code. Section 58.007 makes confidential juvenile law enforcement records relating to delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision that occurred on or after September 1, 1997. Section 58.007 provides in part: (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, D, and E. . . . (e) Law enforcement records and files concerning a child may be inspected or copied by a juvenile justice agency as that term is defined by Section 58.101, a criminal justice agency as that term is defined by Section 411.082, Government Code, the child, and the child's parent or guardian. . . . (j) Before a child or a child's parent or guardian may inspect or copy a record or file concerning the child under Subsection (e), the custodian of the record or file shall redact: (1) any personally identifiable information about a juvenile suspect, offender, victim, or witness who is not the child; and (2) any information that is excepted from required disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code, or other law. Fam. Code § 58.007. 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). Incident report number 07-131101 involves juvenile conduct indicating a need for supervision that occurred on or after September 1, 1997. See id. § 51.03(b)(2) (defining "conduct indicating a need for supervision" to include a child's voluntary absence from his or her home without the parent or guardian's consent for a substantial length of time or without intent to return). The report is therefore subject to section 58.007 of the Family Code. See Fam. Code § 58.007. In this instance, however, the requestor is the mother of the juvenile suspect noted in the report. As such, the city may not withhold the submitted report from this requestor under section 58.007(c) of the Family Code. See id. § 58.007(e) (providing law enforcement records subject to section 58.007(c) may be inspected or copied by the child's parent). However, section 58.007(j) provides that, notwithstanding section 58.007(e), any information that is excepted from required disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code, or other law may still be withheld from disclosure. See id. § 58.007(j)(2). We will, therefore, address your argument under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 261.201 of the Family Code. Section 261.201(a) of the Family Code provides: (a) The following information is confidential, is not subject to public release under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may be disclosed only for purposes consistent with [the Family Code] and applicable federal or state law or under rules adopted by an investigating agency: (1) a report of alleged or suspected abuse or neglect made under [chapter 261 of the Family Code] and the identity of the person making the report; and (2) except as otherwise provided in this section, the files, reports, records, communications, audiotapes, videotapes, and working papers used or developed in an investigation under [chapter 261 of the Family Code] or in providing services as a result of an investigation. Fam. Code § 261.201(a). You assert that incident report number 07-131101 was used or developed in an investigation of alleged child abuse; however, the report reflects it pertains to an investigation of a juvenile runaway. Thus, the submitted incident report is not confidential under section 261.201 of the Family Code and may not be withheld in its entirety under section 552.101 of the Government Code. However, a portion of the incident report, which you have marked, is confidential under section 261.201. See id. § 261.201(a)(1). This marked information must be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code. As you have claimed no further exceptions to disclosure, the remaining information must be released to the requestor pursuant to section 58.007(e) of the Government Code. This letter ruling is limited to the particular information 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 information or any other circumstances. This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For more information concerning those rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/index_orl.php, or call the Office of the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable charges for providing public information under the Act must be directed to the Cost Rules Administrator of the Office of the Attorney General at (512) 475-2497. Sincerely, Karen E. Stack Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division KES/dls Ref: ID# 338615 Enc. Submitted documents c: Requestor (w/o enclosures)
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