January 10, 2011

Ms. Leah A. Curtis

Curtis, Alexander, McCampbell & Morris

P.O. Box 1256

Greenville, Texas 75403-1256

OR2011-00461

Dear Ms. Curtis:

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# 405948.

The Hunt Memorial Hospital District (the "district"), which you represent, received a request for current agreements or contracts for ambulance transport services by and between the district and American Medical Response ("AMR") and information related to how ambulance transport providers are chosen. You state the district has released information related to how ambulance transport providers are chosen. While you raise no exceptions on behalf of the district regarding the submitted information, you indicate that it may contain proprietary information excepted from disclosure under the Act. Accordingly, you state that you have notified AMR, the interested third party, of the request and of the company's right to submit arguments to this office as to why the requested information should not be released. See Gov't Code § 552.305(d); see also Open Records Decision No. 542 (1990) (determining that statutory predecessor to section 552.305 permits governmental body to rely on interested third party to raise and explain applicability of exception to disclosure in certain circumstances). We have received and considered comments forwarded by the district from an attorney representing AMR and reviewed the submitted information.

In the submitted correspondence, AMR indicates it has no objection to the release of the submitted information. As AMR does not argue to withhold any of the information submitted by the district, the district may not withhold any portion of the submitted information on the basis of any proprietary interest AMR may have in the information. Accordingly, the submitted 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,

Tamara Wilcox

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

TW/vb

Ref: ID# 405948

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Walt Landen

Emergency Medical Services Corporation

6200 South Syracuse Way, Suite 200

Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111

(w/o enclosures)

POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US
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