January 6, 2010

Mr. Erik Brown

Assistant General Counsel

TDCJ - Office of the General Counsel

P.O. Box 4004

Huntsville, Texas 77342-4004

OR2010-00208

Dear Mr. Brown:

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# 366622.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (the "department") received a request for all records pertaining to a named former inmate. You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.108, and 552.134 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.134 of the Government Code, which relates to inmates and former inmates of the department, provides in relevant part:

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) or by Section 552.029, information obtained or maintained by the [department] is excepted from [required public disclosure] if it is information about an inmate who is confined in a facility operated by or under a contract with the department.

Gov't Code § 552.134(a). Upon review, we agree all of the submitted information consists of records pertaining to an individual confined as an inmate in a facility operated by the department and is, therefore, subject to section 552.134. We find the exceptions in section 552.029 are not applicable in this instance. We note the requestor, who represents the former inmate at issue, has submitted an "Authorization for Release of Confidential Records and Information" signed by the inmate. Section 552.023 of the Government Code gives a person or that person's authorized representative a "special right of access, beyond the right of the general public, to information held by a governmental body that relates to the person and that is protected from public disclosure by laws intended to protect that person's privacy interests." Id. § 552.023. However, section 552.134 does not protect only the inmate's privacy interest, but also protects the interests of the governmental body. As such, the requestor does not have a special right of access to this information under section 552.023. See id. § 552.023(b) (governmental body may assert provisions of Act or other law that are not intended to protect person's privacy interests to withhold information to which requestor may otherwise have a special right of access). Accordingly, the department must withhold the submitted information under section 552.134 of the Government Code. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining arguments 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, toll free, at (888) 672-6787.

Sincerely,

Christopher D. Sterner

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

CDSA/eeg

Ref: ID# 366622

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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