October 15, 2010

Ms. Lori G. Aylett

Smith, Murdaugh, Little & Bonham, L.L.P.

1100 Louisiana Street, Suite 400

Houston, Texas 77002-5211

OR2010-15733

Dear Ms. Aylett:

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# 397676.

The Southern Montgomery County Municipal Utility District (the "district") received a request for all Campaign Treasurer Appointments filed by all candidates and officeholders for the district's board of directors. You indicate you have released some information to the requestor. We understand you to claim some of the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.117 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.117(a)(1) of the Government Code excepts from public disclosure the home address, home telephone number, social security number, and family member information of a current or former official or employee of a governmental body who requests that this information be kept confidential under section 552.024 of the Government Code. Gov't Code § 552.117(a)(1). Whether a particular item of information is protected by section 552.117(a)(1) must be determined at the time of the governmental body's receipt of the request for the information. See Open Records Decision No. 530 at 5 (1989). Thus, information may only be withheld under section 552.117(a)(1) on behalf of a current or former official or employee who made a request for confidentiality under section 552.024 prior to the date of the governmental body's receipt of the request for the information. You state, and provide documentation showing, the officials at issue timely elected confidentiality under section 552.024. Accordingly, the district must withhold the information you have marked under section 552.117(a)(1) of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ The remaining information must be released.

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/tp

Ref: ID# 397676

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. As you acknowledge, section 552.024(c)(3) of the Government Code allows a governmental body to redact certain personal information pertaining to employees or officials who properly elected to keep their information confidential without th necessity of requesting a ruling from this office. See Gov't Code § 552.024(c)(2) (if employee or official or former employee or official chooses not to allow public access to his or her personal information, the governmental body may redact the information without the necessity of requesting a decision from this office).

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