March 31, 2010

Ms. Katherine R. Fite

Assistant General Counsel

Office of the Governor

P.O. Box 12428

Austin, Texas 78711

OR2010-04558

Dear Ms. Fite:

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# 377312.

The Office of the Governor (the "governor") received a request for all correspondence, data, reports, and documents pertaining to a named individual. You state you have released some of the requested information to the requestor. You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.107, and 552.111 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ You also state you have notified the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles (the "board") about the instant request for information in accordance with section 552.304 of the Government Code. See Gov't Code § 552.304 (any person may submit written comments stating why information at issue in request for Attorney General ruling should or should not be released). We have considered the exceptions 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." Gov't Code § 552.101. Section 552.101 encompasses information protected by other statutes, such as section 508.313 of the Government Code, which provides in part:

(a) All information obtained and maintained [by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice], including a victim protest letter or other correspondence, a victim impact statement, a list of inmates eligible for release on parole, and an arrest record of an inmate, is confidential and privileged if the information relates to:

(1) an inmate of the institutional division [of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice] subject to release on parole, release to mandatory supervision, or executive clemency;

(2) a releasee; or

(3) a person directly identified in any proposed plan of release for an inmate.

(b) Statistical and general information relating to the parole and mandatory supervision system, including the names of releasees and data recorded relating to parole and mandatory supervision services, is not confidential or privileged and must be made available for public inspection at any reasonable time.

(c) The [Texas Department of Criminal Justice], on request or in the normal course of official business, shall provide information that is confidential and privileged under Subsection (a) to:

(1) the governor;

(2) a member of the [board] or a parole commissioner;

(3) the Criminal Justice Policy Council in performing duties of the council under Section 413.017 [of the Government Code]; or

(4) an eligible entity requesting information for a law enforcement, prosecutorial, correctional, clemency, or treatment purpose.

Id. § 508.313(a)-(c). Section 508.313 requires the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (the "department") to transfer information to the governor for consideration in clemency matters; such a transfer does not affect the confidentiality of the information. See id. § 508.313(c). You state that Exhibit B was transferred by the board and the department to the governor for his consideration in a clemency matter. Accordingly, we determine that Exhibit B is confidential under section 508.313 of the Government Code and must be withheld from disclosure pursuant to section 552.101 of the Government Code. ⁽²⁾

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,

Adam Leiber

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

ACL/rl

Ref: ID# 377312

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Although you raise section 552.101 in conjunction with rule 503 of the Texas Rules of Evidence, this office has concluded that section 552.101 does not encompass discovery privileges. See Open Records Decision No. 676 at 1-2 (2002).

2. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining arguments against disclosure.

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