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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
GREG ABBOTT
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January 13, 2011

Ms. J. Middlebrooks

Assistant City Attorney

Criminal Law and Police Section

City of Dallas

1400 South Lamar

Dallas, Texas 75215

OR2011-00694

Dear Ms. Middlebrooks:

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# 405987 (DPD PIR #2010-9914).

The Dallas Police Department (the "department") received a request for all records related to control number 07-168 and a named individual. You claim some of the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.117 and 552.136 of the Government Code. (1) We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted representative sample of information. (2)

You assert some of the submitted information is excepted under section 552.117 of the Government Code. Section 552.117(a)(2) of the Government Code excepts from public disclosure a peace officer's home address and telephone number, social security number, and family member information regardless of whether the peace officer made an election under section 552.024 of the Government Code. Gov't Code § 552.117(a)(2). Section 552.117(a)(2) applies to peace officers as defined by article 2.12 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Upon review, we agree the department must withhold the information you have marked under section 552.117(a)(2).

Section 552.136 of the Government Code provides in part that "[n]otwithstanding any other provision of [the Act], a credit card, debit card, charge card, or access device number that is collected, assembled, or maintained by or for a governmental body is confidential." Id. § 552.136(b); see id. § 552.136(a) (defining "access device"). You seek to withhold an employee number, which you have marked, under this exception. You explain an employee's identification number is the same number used for the City of Dallas credit union accounts plus one additional number. Based on your representation, we agree the department must withhold the employee number you have marked under section 552.136.

In summary, the department must withhold the information you have marked under section 552.117(a)(2) of the Government Code. The department must withhold the employee number you have marked under section 552.136 of the Government Code. 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,

Ana Carolina Vieira

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

ACV/vb

Ref: ID# 405987

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)


Footnotes

1. Although you also raise section 552.101 of the Government Code, you provide no arguments explaining how this exception is applicable to the submitted information. Thus, we presume you have withdrawn your claim under this exception. See Gov't Code §§ 552.301(e)(1)(A) (governmental body must provide comments explaining why exceptions raised should apply to information requested), .302.

2. We assume the "representative sample" of records submitted to this office is truly representative of the requested records as a whole. See Open Records Decision Nos. 499 (1988), 497 (1988). This open records letter does not reach, and therefore does not authorize the withholding of, any other requested records to the extent those records contain substantially different types of information than that submitted to this office.

 

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