March 23, 2010

Mr. Jason L. Mathis

Cowles & Thompson

901 Main Street, Suite 3900

Dallas, Texas 75202-3793

OR2010-04063

Dear Mr. Mathis:

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# 373981.

The Addison Police Department (the "department"), which you represent, received a request for information pertaining to all businesses and residences that have been broken into during the last sixty days, including contact names, telephone numbers, addresses, and a description of the stolen items. You claim that the requested 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 public disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. Section 552.101 encompasses information protected by other statutes, such as section 182.052 of the Utilities Code, which provides in relevant part as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Section 182.054, a government-operated utility may not disclose personal information in a customer's account record, or any information relating to the volume or units of utility usage or the amounts billed to or collected from the individual for utility usage, if the customer requests that the government-operated utility keep the information confidential. However, a government-operated utility may disclose information related to the customer's volume or units of utility usage or amounts billed to or collected from the individual for utility usage if the primary source of water for such utility was a sole-source designated aquifer.

(b) A customer may request confidentiality by delivering to the government-operated utility an appropriately marked form provided under Subsection (c)(3) or any other written request for confidentiality.

Util. Code § 182.052(a)-(b). Section 182.052 applies to personal information in a customer's account record that is being held by a government-operated utility. Here, the information at issue is being held by the department. We note, and you acknowledge, that the department is not a government-operated utility for purposes of section 182.052. Because the department is not a government-operated utility, we have no basis for concluding section 182.052 of the Utilities Code is applicable to any of the submitted information. As you raise no further exceptions to disclosure of the submitted information, it must be released to the requestor in its entirety.

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,

Tamara H. Holland

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

THH/jb

Ref: ID# 373981

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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