April 13, 2010

Ms. Andrea M. Gardner

City Manager

City of Copperas Cove

P.O. Drawer 1449

Copperas Cove, Texas 76522

OR2010-05151

Dear Ms. Gardner:

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# 381033.

The City of Copperas Cove (the "city") received a request for information pertaining to a specified incident. You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.108 and 552.130 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Initially, we must address the city's obligations under the Act. Section 552.301 of the Government Code prescribes the procedures that a governmental body must follow in asking this office to decide whether requested information is excepted from public disclosure. Section 552.301(b) requires that a governmental body ask for a decision from this office and state which exceptions apply to the requested information by the tenth business day after receiving the request. Gov't Code § 552.301(b). You state that the city received the request at issue on March 9, 2010. Accordingly, the ten-business-day deadline was March 23, 2010. The city's request for a ruling from this office was postmarked March 24, 2010. See id. § 552.308 (describing rules for calculating submission dates of documents sent via first class United States mail, common or contract carrier, or interagency mail). Accordingly, the city did not request a decision from this office within the ten-business-day period prescribed by subsection 552.301(b).

The information at issue is, therefore, presumed to be subject to required public disclosure and must be released, unless there is a compelling reason to withhold any of the information. See id. § 552.302; Simmons v. Kuzmich, 166 S.W.3d 342, 350 (Tex. App.--Fort Worth 2005, no pet.); Hancock v. State Bd. of Ins., 797 S.W.2d 379, 381 (Tex. App.--Austin 1990, no writ); see also Open Records Decision No. 630 (1994). This statutory presumption can generally be overcome when information is confidential by law or third-party interests are at stake. See Open Records Decision Nos. 630 at 3, 325 at 2 (1982). Although you raise section 552.108 of the Government Code, this section is a discretionary exception that protects a governmental body's interests and may be waived. See Open Records Decision Nos. 663 at 5 (1999) (untimely request for decision resulted in waiver of discretionary exceptions), 177 (1977) (statutory predecessor to section 552.108 subject to waiver). As such, it does not constitute a compelling reason to withhold information. Therefore, the city may not withhold the submitted report under section 552.108 of the Government Code. However, we will address the city's claim under section 552.130 of the Government Code, which can provide a compelling reason for non-disclosure under section 552.302.

Section 552.130 excepts from public disclosure information that relates to a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state. Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(2). We note that the requestor has a right of access to his own Texas motor vehicle record information under section 552.023 of the Government Code and it may not be withheld from him under section 552.130. See Gov't Code § 552.023(b) (governmental body may not deny access to person to whom information relates or person's agent on grounds that information is considered confidential by privacy principles); Open Records Decision No. 481 at 4 (1987) (privacy theories not implicated when individuals request information concerning themselves). However, upon review, we find the city must withhold the Texas license plate number not pertaining to the requestor, which we have marked, under section 552.130 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ 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,

Laura Ream Lemus

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

LRL/jb

Ref: ID# 381033

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. 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 Texas license plate numbers, under section 552.130 of the Government Code, without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision.

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