February 16, 2010

Ms. Beth Moroney

Paralegal

City of San Antonio

P.O. Box 839966

San Antonio, Texas

OR2010-02291

Dear Ms. Maroney:

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# 374739 (COSA File No. 10-01107).

The City of San Antonio (the "city") received a request for offense report number 90802051. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision" and encompasses information made confidential by statute. Gov't Code § 552.101. Section 550.065(b) of the Transportation Code states that except as provided by subsection (c), accident reports are privileged and confidential. See Transp. Code § 550.065. Section 550.065(c)(4) provides for the release of accident reports to a person who provides two of the following three pieces of information: (1) date of the accident; (2) name of any person involved in the accident; and (3) specific location of the accident. Id. § 550.065(c)(4). Under this provision, the Texas Department of Transportation or another governmental entity is required to release a copy of an accident report to a person who provides the agency with two or more pieces of information specified by the statute. Id. The submitted information contains a CRB-3 accident report form and a CR-3 accident report form that were completed pursuant to chapter 550 of the Transportation Code. See id. § 550.064 (officer's accident report). In this instance, the requestor has not provided the city with two of the three requisite pieces of information. Therefore, the department must withhold the submitted CRB-3 and CR-3 accident report forms under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 550.065(b) of the Transportation Code. However, none of the remaining information consists of accident report forms completed pursuant to chapter 550 of the Transportation Code. Therefore, none of the remaining information may be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 550.065(b) of the Transportation Code. As you raise no further exceptions to disclosure, the remaining information 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,

Amy L.S. Shipp

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

ALS/rl

Ref: ID# 374739

Enc. Submitted documents

cc: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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