January 21, 2011

Mr. Fred M. Barker

Assistant County Attorney

Parker County

118 West Columbia Street

Weatherford, Texas 76086

OR2011-01074

Dear Mr. Barker:

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# 406680.

Parker County (the "county") received a request for the detailed call listing of all telephone numbers called and received by a named county commissioner, including a specified telephone number, from January 1, 2007 to September 30, 2010. You state the requested information is not subject to the Act. We have considered your arguments and reviewed the submitted information.

The county asserts the county commissioner's cellular telephone records are not subject to the Act. The Act applies to "public information," which is defined in section 552.002 of the Government Code as:

information that is collected, assembled, or maintained under a law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business:

(1) by a governmental body; or

(2) for a governmental body and the governmental body owns the information or has a right of access to it.

Gov't Code § 552.002. Thus, virtually all of the information in a governmental body's physical possession constitutes public information and, thus, is subject to the Act. Id. § 552.002(a)(1); see Open Records Decision Nos. 549 at 4 (1990), 514 at 1-2 (1988). The Act also encompasses information that a governmental body does not physically possess, if the information is collected, assembled, or maintained for the governmental body, and the governmental body owns the information or has a right of access to it. Gov't Code § 552.002(a)(2); see Open Records Decision No. 462 at 4 (1987).

We further note that the characterization of information as "public information" under the Act is not dependent on whether the requested records are in the possession of an individual or whether a governmental body has a particular policy or procedure that establishes a governmental body's access to the information. See Open Records Decision No. 635 at 3-4 (1995) (finding that information does not fall outside definition of "public information" in Act merely because individual member of governmental body possesses information rather than governmental body as whole); see also Open Records Decision No. 425 (1985) (concluding, among other things, that information sent to individual school trustees' homes was public information because it related to official business of governmental body) (overruled on other grounds by Open Records Decision No. 439 (1986)). Thus, the mere fact that the county does not possess the information at issue does not take the information outside the scope of the Act. See id. Furthermore, this office has found information in a public official's personal e-mail account and home telephone records may be subject to the Act where the public official uses the personal e-mail account and home telephone to conduct public business. See ORD 635 at 6-7 (appointment calendar owned by a public official or employee is subject to the Act when it is maintained by another public employee and used for public business).

You state the commissioner's personal cellular telephone records are not subject to the Act because the county does not provide his cellular telephone. You further state that the cellular telephone is considered his personal private cellular telephone and is under his supervision and control. You also assert that the records of this cellular telephone are the commissioners private records. However, you state that the county provided the commissioner with an allowance for the use of his personal cellular telephone and that by accepting the allowance the commissioner was required to maintain a personal telephone. Further, you state the telephone calls and numbers relate to various political and county government business. We reiterate that information is within the scope of the Act if it relates to the official business of a governmental body and is maintained by a public official or employee of the governmental body. See Gov't Code § 552.002(a). Thus, to the extent the cellular telephone records maintained by the commissioner relate to the official business of the county, they are subject to the Act, and as you have claimed no exceptions to disclosure for these records, they must be released. To the extent the commissioner's cellular telephone records do not relate to the official business of the county, they are not subject to the Act and need not 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,

Andrea L. Caldwell

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

ALC/eeg

Ref: ID# 406680

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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