February 23, 2011

Ms. J. Middlebrooks

Assistant City Attorney

City of Dallas

Criminal Law and Police Section

1400 South Lamar

Dallas, TX 75215

OR2011-02667

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# 414181 (DPD P.I.R. # 2011-00636).

The Dallas Police Department (the "department") received a request for information pertaining to a specified incident. You claim portions of the requested information are excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.130 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information. ⁽¹⁾

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 other statutes. Gov't Code § 552.101. Section 552.101 encompasses section 772.318 of the Health and Safety Code. Chapter 772 of the Health and Safety Code authorizes the development of local emergency communications districts. Section 772.318 of the Health and Safety Code applies to an emergency communication district for a county with a population of more than 20,000 and makes confidential the originating telephone numbers and addresses of 9-1-1 callers that are furnished by a service supplier. See Open Records Decision No. 649 (1996). We understand the City of Dallas to be part of an emergency communication district that was established under section 772.318. You have marked the telephone number and address of a 9-1-1 caller that the department seeks to withhold. We conclude the department must withhold the marked telephone number and address under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 772.318 of the Health and Safety Code, to the extent they consist of an originating telephone number and an originating address that were furnished by a service supplier. If the marked telephone number and address are not the originating telephone number and the originating address provided by a service supplier, the marked information may not be withheld under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 772.318.

Section 552.130 of the Government Code provides information relating to a motor vehicle operator's license, driver's license, motor vehicle title, or registration issued by a Texas agency is excepted from public release. Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(1), (2). The department must withhold the information you have marked, as well as the additional information we have marked, under section 552.130 of the Government Code. ⁽²⁾

In summary, the department must withhold the marked telephone number and address under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 772.318 of the Health and Safety Code, to the extent they consist of an originating telephone number and an originating address that were furnished by a service supplier. The department must withhold the information marked under section 552.130 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,

Cindy Nettles

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

CN/tf

Ref: ID# 414181

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We assume that the "representative sample" of information 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 that those records contain substantially different types of information than that submitted to this office.

2. We note this office issued Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009), a previous determination to all governmental bodies authorizing them to withhold ten categories of information, including Texas driver's license numbers and Texas license plate numbers under section 552.130 of the Government Code, without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision.

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