January 18, 2011

Mr. Cass Robert Callaway

City Attorney

City of Venus

P.O. Box 380

Venus, Texas 76084

OR2011-00796

Dear Mr. Callaway:

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# 410638.

The City of Venus (the "city") received a request for (1) information pertaining to a specified incident, (2) number of citations issued by Venus Police Department officers during a specified time period, and (3) total amount of revenue received by the Venus Municipal Court during a specified time period. You state the city has released information responsive to items two and three. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.108, and 552.130 of the Government Code. 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" and encompasses information made confidential by statute. Gov't Code § 552.101. Section 550.065(b) of the Transportation Code states that except as provided by subsection (c), accident reports are privileged and confidential. See Transp. Code § 550.065. Section 550.065(c)(4) provides for the release of accident reports to a person who provides two of the following three pieces of information: (1) date of the accident; (2) name of any person involved in the accident; and (3) specific location of the accident. Id. § 550.065(c)(4). The requestor has not provided the department with two of the three requisite pieces of information specified by the statute. Accordingly, the city must withhold the submitted CR-3 accident report under section 550.065(b) of the Transportation Code in conjunction with section 552.101 of the Government Code. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining arguments.

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 H. Holland

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

THH/tf

Ref: ID# 410638

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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