 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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February 8, 2010 Mr. Scott A. Kelly Deputy General Counsel The Texas A&M University System 200 Technology Way, Suite 2079 College Station, Texas 77845-3424 OR2010-01901 Dear Mr. Kelley: 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# 369518. Texas A&M University (the "university") received a request for all records pertaining to the Haynes Whaley Associates' evaluation of the McFerrin Center and subsequent repairs and/or modifications ordered by Summit Structures, LLC in response to that evaluation. You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.117 and 552.137 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted representative sample of information. (1) Section 552.117(a)(1) of the Government Code excepts from disclosure the current and former home addresses and telephone numbers, social security number, and family member information of current or former officials or employees of a governmental body who request that this information be kept confidential under section 552.024 of the Government Code. Section 552.117 also encompasses a personal cellular telephone number, provided that a governmental body does not pay for the cellular telephone service. See Open Records Decision No. 506 at 5-6 (1988) (Gov't Code § 552.117 not applicable to cellular telephone numbers paid for by governmental body and intended for official use). Whether a particular piece of information is protected by section 552.117(a)(1) must be determined at the time the request for it is made. See Open Records Decision No. 530 at 5 (1989). You state that the employees at issue elected to keep these types of information confidential before the university received the request for information; therefore, the university must withhold the information you have marked under section 552.117(a)(1) of the Government Code. You assert that the submitted information contains e-mail addresses that are excepted from disclosure under section 552.137 of the Government Code. Section 552.137 makes certain e-mail addresses confidential, providing the following: (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, an e-mail address of a member of the public that is provided for the purpose of communicating electronically with a governmental body is confidential and not subject to disclosure under this chapter. (b) Confidential information described by this section that relates to a member of the public may be disclosed if the member of the public affirmatively consents to its release. (c) Subsection (a) does not apply to an e-mail address: (1) provided to a governmental body by a person who has a contractual relationship with the governmental body or by the contractor's agent; (2) provided to a governmental body by a vendor who seeks to contract with the governmental body or by the vendor's agent; (3) contained in a response to a request for bids or proposals, contained in a response to similar invitations soliciting offers or information relating to a potential contract, or provided to a governmental body in the course of negotiating the terms of a contract or potential contract; or (4) provided to a governmental body on a letterhead, coversheet, printed document, or other document made available to the public. (d) Subsection (a) does not prevent a governmental body from disclosing an e-mail address for any reason to another governmental body or to a federal agency.
In summary, the university must withhold the information you have marked under section 552.117(a)(1) of the Government Code. The university must withhold the e-mail addresses you have marked, in addition to the e-mail addresses we have marked, under section 552.137 of the Government Code unless the university received consent for their release or the e-mail addresses belong to agents of companies with contractual relationships or who seek to contract with the university. The remaining information must be released. 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, Nneka Kanu Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division NK/jb Ref: ID# 369518 Enc. Submitted documents cc: 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.
We note this office recently issued Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009), a previous determination
to all governmental bodies authorizing them to withhold ten categories of information, including an e-mail
address of a member of the public under section 552.137 of the Government Code, without the necessity of
requesting an attorney general decision. POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |
Gov't Code § 552.137. Under section 552.137, a governmental body must withhold the
e-mail address of a member of the general public, unless the individual to whom the e-mail
address belongs has affirmatively consented to its public disclosure.