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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
GREG ABBOTT
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February 10, 2010

Mr. C. Patrick Phillips

Assistant City Attorney

City of Fort Worth

1000 Throckmorton Street Third Floor

Fort Worth, Texas 76102

OR2010-02067

Dear Mr. Phillips:

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# 374001 (PIR No. 1557-10).

The City of Fort Worth (the "city") received a request for laboratory results relating to the requestor's blood alcohol level on a specified date. You claim that the requested information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the information you submitted.

Section 724.018 of the Transportation Code provides that "[o]n the request of a person who has given a specimen at the request of a peace officer, full information concerning the analysis of the specimen shall be made available to the person or the person's attorney." Transp. Code § 724.018. In this instance, the information at issue consists of the results of an analysis of blood specimens obtained from the requestor. Although the city seeks to withhold this information under section 552.108 of the Government Code, the exceptions to disclosure found in the Act do not apply to information that other statutes make public. See Open Records Decision Nos. 623 at 3 (1994), 525 at 3 (1989). Therefore, the submitted information may not be withheld under section 552.108 and must be released to this requestor pursuant to section 724.018 of the Transportation Code.

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,

James W. Morris, III

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JWM/cc

Ref: ID# 374001

Enc: Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

 

POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US
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