 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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February 8, 2011 Mr. Charles Weir Assistant City Attorney City of San Antonio P.O. Box 839966 San Antonio, Texas 78283 OR2011-01925 Dear Mr. Weir: 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# 408489 (COSA File No. 2010-7022). The San Antonio Police Department (the "department") received a request for offense report numbers 00-858755 and 00-903685. You state offense report number 00-903685 will be released to the requestor. You claim offense report number 00-858755 is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information. Section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "[i]nformation held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime . . . if . . . release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime[.]" Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). A governmental body claiming section 552.108 must reasonably explain how and why the release of the requested information would interfere with law enforcement. See id. §§ 552.108(a)(1), .301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state offense report number 00-858755 pertains to an open case. Based on your representation and our review, we conclude the release of this information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. See Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975) (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976). In this instance, however, the requestor is a representative of the San Antonio Housing Authority. The Texas Department of Public Safety ("DPS") is required to provide criminal history record information ("CHRI") to a noncriminal justice agency that is authorized to receive CHRI pursuant to a federal statute, executive order or state statute. See Gov't Code § 411.083(b)(2). In Open Records Decision No. 655 (1997), this office concluded a local housing authority is a noncriminal justice agency authorized by federal statute to receive CHRI. See ORD 655 at 4. The federal Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act of 1996 authorizes housing authorities to obtain criminal records of applicants and tenants. Section 1437d(q)(1)(A) of title 42 of the United States Code provides "the National Crime Information Center, police departments, and other law enforcement agencies shall, upon request, provide information to public housing agencies regarding the criminal conviction records of adult applicants for, or tenants of, public housing for purposes of applicant screening, lease enforcement, and eviction." 42 U.S.C. § 1437d(q)(1)(A). Pursuant to section 411.087 of the Government Code, an agency that is entitled to obtain CHRI from DPS also is authorized to "obtain from any other criminal justice agency in this state [CHRI] maintained by that [agency]." Gov't Code § 411.087(a)(2). Thus, a housing authority also is authorized to obtain CHRI from a local criminal justice agency such as the department. See ORD 655 at 4; see also Gov't Code §§ 411.083(b)(2), 411.087(a). CHRI consists of "information collected about a person by a criminal justice agency that consists of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, informations, and other formal criminal charges and their dispositions." Gov't Code § 411.082(2). Federal law, however, limits the purposes for which a housing authority may request CHRI. Federal law provides that (1) public housing agencies may receive CHRI for adult applicants for public housing or for adult tenants of public housing, and (2) CHRI may only be used for purposes of applicant screening, lease enforcement, and eviction. See 42 U.S.C. § 1437d(q)(1)(A). The requestor in this instance states the requested information will be used to determine lease violations and eviction proceedings. Based on these representations, we conclude the requested records will be used for lease enforcement and eviction. Therefore, the city must release information to this requestor that shows the types of allegations made and whether there were arrests, informations, indictments, detentions, convictions, or other formal charges and their dispositions. We also note section 552.108 does not except from disclosure basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime. Gov't Code § 552.108(c). Basic information refers to the information held to be public in Houston Chronicle. See 531 S.W.2d at 186-87; Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information made public by Houston Chronicle). The city must also release basic information pursuant to section 552.108(c) of the Government Code. The remaining information may be withheld under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. 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, Kenneth Leland Conyer Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division KLC/eeg Ref: ID# 408489 Enc. Submitted documents c: Requestor (w/o enclosures)
POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |