 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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February 3, 2010 Ms. Connie Crawford Assistant County Attorney El Paso County 4815 Alameda, 8th Floor, Suite B El Paso, Texas 79905 OR2010-01662 Dear Ms. Crawford: 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# 370225. The El Paso County Hospital District (the "district") received a request for the contract for medical scanning services with the current vendor. The district takes no position on whether the submitted information is excepted from disclosure, but states that release of this information may implicate the proprietary interests of Lason, Inc. ("Lason"). Accordingly, you inform us, and provide documentation showing, that you notified Lason of the request and of its right to submit arguments to this office as to why the submitted information should not be released. See Gov't Code § 552.305(d) (permitting interested third party to submit to attorney general reasons why requested information should not be released); Open Records Decision No. 542 (1990) (statutory predecessor to section 552.305 permitted governmental body to rely on interested third party to raise and explain applicability of exception to disclosure under certain circumstances). We have reviewed the submitted information. We note that an interested third party is allowed ten business days after the date of its receipt of the governmental body's notice under section 552.305(d) of the Government Code to submit its reasons, if any, as to why requested information relating to it should be withheld from disclosure. See Gov't Code § 552.305(d)(2)(B). As of the date of this letter, we have not received any arguments from Lason. We, thus, have no basis for concluding that any portion of the submitted information constitutes the proprietary information of Lason. See id. § 552.110; Open Records Decision Nos. 661 at 5-6 (1999) (to prevent disclosure of commercial or financial information, party must show by specific factual evidence, not conclusory or generalized allegations, that release of requested information would cause that party substantial competitive harm), 552 at 5 (1990) (party must establish prima facie case that information is trade secret), 542 at 3. Accordingly, the district may not withhold any of the submitted information based on the proprietary interests of Lason. As no arguments are made against the disclosure of the submitted information, it must be released to the requestor. 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, Laura Ream Lemus Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division LRL/jb Ref: ID# 370225 Enc. Submitted documents c: Requestor (w/o enclosures) Mr. Bob Rayner HOV/Lason 2601 East Yandell El Paso, Texas 79903 (w/o enclosures)
POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |