 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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February 2, 2010 Ms. Sharon Alexander Associate General Counsel Texas Department of Transportation 125 East 11th Street Austin, Texas 78701-2483 OR2010-01581 Dear Ms. Alexander: 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# 369131. The Texas Department of Transportation (the "department") received a request for information pertaining to the discovery of a specified "Caddo Indian site[.]" You claim that the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.111 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted representative sample of information. (1) 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 section encompasses information protected by other statutes. Section 191.004 of the Natural Resources Code provides: (a) Information specifying the location of any site or item declared to be a state archeological landmark under Subchapter D of this chapter is not public information. (b) Information specifying the location or nature of an activity covered by a permit or an application for a permit under this chapter is not public information. (c) Information specifying details of a survey to locate state archeological landmarks under this chapter is not public information. Nat. Res. Code § 191.004(a)-(c). You state the information at issue specifies the location of a state archeological landmark, the location and nature of activity covered by a permit or application for a permit under chapter 191, or details of a survey to locate state archeological landmarks. Upon review, we agree the information at issue qualifies as information specifying the location of any site or item declared to be a state archeological landmark, information specifying the location or nature of an activity covered by a permit or an application for a permit, or information specifying details of a survey to locate state archeological landmarks for purposes of section 191.004. Therefore, we conclude that the department must withhold the information at issue under 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with subsections (a), (b), and (c) of section 191.004 of the Natural Resources Code. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining 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, toll free, at (888) 672-6787. Sincerely, Christopher D. Sterner Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division CDSA/eeg Ref: ID# 369131 Enc. Submitted documents c: Requestor (w/o enclosures)
1. We assume that the "representative sample" of records submitted to this office is truly representative
of the requested records as a whole. See Open Records Decision Nos. 499 (1988), 497 (1988). This open
records letter does not reach, and therefore does not authorize the withholding of, any other requested records
to the extent that those records contain substantially different types of information than that submitted to this
office. POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |