February 25, 2011

Ms. LeAnn M. Quinn

City Secretary

600 North Bell Boulevard

Cedar Park, Texas 78613

OR2011-02815

Dear Ms. Quinn:

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# 410304 (Cedar Park Reference No. 11-197).

The City of Cedar Park (the "city") received a request for police records involving a named individual and the requestor and her family at two specified addresses during a specified time period. You state the city has redacted Texas driver's license and license plate numbers under section 552.130 of the Government Code pursuant to Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009) and social security numbers pursuant to section 552.147 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ You claim the submitted information 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)(2) 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 it is information that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime only in relation to an investigation that did not result in conviction or deferred adjudication[.]" Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(2). Section 552.108(a)(2) is applicable only if the information at issue relates to a concluded criminal case that did not result in a conviction or a deferred adjudication. A governmental body that claims an exception to disclosure under section 552.108 must reasonably explain how and why this exception is applicable to the information the governmental body seeks to withhold. See id. § 552.301(e)(1)(A). You explain the submitted information relates to cases that have been closed and no further action will be taken. In addition, you state no charges were filed in response to the incidents documented in the submitted information. Thus, we find the submitted information pertains to concluded criminal investigations conducted by the city's police department that did not result in a conviction or deferred adjudication. Accordingly, we agree section 552.108(a)(2) is applicable to the submitted information.

We note section 552.108 does not except from disclosure "basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime." Id. § 552.108(c). Section 552.108(c) refers to the basic information held to be public in Houston Chronicle Publishing Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976). See Open Records Decision No. 127 at 3-4 (1976) (summarizing types of information deemed public by Houston Chronicle). Thus, with the exception of basic information, the city may withhold the submitted information under section 552.108(a)(2) of the Government Code. ⁽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,

Tamara Wilcox

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

TW/vb

Ref: ID# 410304

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

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

2. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining argument against disclosure.

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