April 1, 2009

Ms. Laura Garza Jimenez

Nueces County Attorney

901 Leopard, Room 207

Corpus Christi, Texas 78401-3680

OR2009-04253

Dear Ms. Jimenez:

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# 338660.

The Nueces County Auditor (the "auditor") received a request for information pertaining to a specified audit. ⁽¹⁾ You also state that the auditor does not have information responsive to a portion of the request. ⁽²⁾ You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

We note the submitted information was the subject of a previous request for information, in response to which this office issued Open Records Letter No. 2009-04029 (2009). In that ruling, we concluded that the auditor may withhold the submitted information under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. As we have no indication the law, facts, and circumstances on which the prior ruling was based have changed, the auditor may continue to rely on that ruling as a previous determination and withhold the submitted information in accordance with Open Records Letter No. 2009-04029. See Open Records Decision No. 673 (2001) (so long as law, facts, and circumstances on which prior ruling was based have not changed, first type of previous determination exists where requested information is precisely same information as was addressed in prior attorney general ruling, ruling is addressed to same governmental body, and ruling concludes that information is or is not excepted from disclosure). As we are able to make this determination, we do not address your argument against disclosure.

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,

Jennifer Luttrall

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JL/eeg

Ref: ID# 338660

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We note that the auditor received clarification regarding this request. See Gov't Code § 552.222(b) (governmental body may communicate with requestor for purpose of clarifying or narrowing request for information).

2. The Act does not require a governmental body to disclose information that did not exist at the time the request was received, nor does it require a governmental body to prepare new information in response to a request. Econ. Opportunities Dev. Corp. v. Bustamante, 562 S.W.2d 266 (Tex. Civ. App.--San Antonio1978, writ dism'd); Attorney General Opinion H-90 (1973); Open Records Decision Nos. 452 at 2-3 (1986), 342 at 3 (1982), 87 (1975); see also Open Records Decision Nos. 572 at 1(1990), 555 at 1-2 (1990),416 at 5 (1984).

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