February 24, 2011

Ms. Jessica Sangsvang

Assistant City Attorney

City of Fort Worth

1000 Throckmorton Street, 3rd Floor

Fort Worth, Texas 76102

OR2011-02744

Dear Ms. Sangsvang:

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# 414661 (PIR No. W006367).

The City of Fort Worth (the "city") received a request for information related to a specified incident. You state the city has redacted certain Texas motor vehicle record information pursuant to the previous determinations issued to the city. See Gov't Code § 552.301(a); Open Records Decision No. 673 at 7-8 (2001). In addition, you state the city has redacted social security numbers pursuant to section 552.147 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ You claim that some of the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from public disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. This section encompasses information protected by other statutes. Chapter 772 of the Health and Safety Code authorizes the development of local emergency communication districts. Section 772.218 of the Health and Safety Code applies to an emergency communication district for a county with a population of more than 860,000 and makes confidential the originating telephone numbers and addresses of 9-1-1 callers that are furnished by a 9-1-1 service supplier. See Open Records Decision No. 649 (1996). You state the city is part of an emergency communication district that is subject to section 772.218 of the Health and Safety Code. Thus, we conclude to the extent the telephone number and address you have marked consists of the originating telephone number and address of a 9-1-1 caller that was supplied by a 9-1-1 service provider, the city must withhold the marked information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 772.218 of the Health and Safety Code. However, to the extent the marked telephone number and address are not the originating telephone number and address provided by a 9-1-1 service supplier, the city may not withhold this information under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 772.218. The remaining submitted information must be released to the requestor. ⁽²⁾

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/dls

Ref: ID# 414661

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Section 552.147(b) of the Government Code authorizes a governmental body to redact a living person's social security number from public release without the necessity of requesting a decision from this office. See Gov't Code § 552.147(b).

2. We note the information being released in this instance contains confidential information to which the requestor has a right of access. See Gov't Code § 552.023(a). If the city receives another request for the same information from a different requestor, the city should again seek a decision from this office.

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