March 3, 2011

Mr. Cass Robert Callaway

City Attorney

City of Venus

P.O. Box 380

Venus, Texas 76084

OR2011-03009

Dear Mr. Callaway:

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# 410863.

The City of Venus (the "city") received a request for "city council meeting minutes that show when and who the reserve officers were/ and at what meeting they were approved on/in." You state the city has released some of the requested information, but claim some of the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.1175 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information. ⁽²⁾

The submitted information contains the home and cellular telephone numbers of city police and reserve officers. Section 552.117(a)(2) of the Government Code excepts from disclosure the current and former home addresses and telephone numbers, social security numbers, and family member information of a peace officer, as defined by article 2.12 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, regardless of whether the officer elected under section 552.024 or 552.1175 of the Government Code to keep such information confidential. Gov't Code § 552.117(a)(2). Section 552.117 of the Government Code also encompasses a personal cellular telephone number, provided a governmental body does not pay for the cellular telephone service. See Open Records Decision No. 506 at 5-6 (1988) (Government Code section 552.117 not applicable to cellular telephone numbers paid for by governmental body and intended for official use). The city must withhold under section 552.117(a)(2) the home telephone numbers we have marked and the cellular telephone numbers we have marked of the city police officers to the extent the city police officers paid for the cellular telephone service.

We are unable to determine whether the reserve officers are peace officers as defined by article 2.12; therefore, we must rule conditionally. If the reserve officers are peace officers as defined by article 2.12, then the city must withhold under section 552.117(a)(2) the home telephone numbers we have marked and the cellular telephone numbers we have marked to the extent the reserve officers paid for the cellular telephone service. If, however, the reserve officers are not peace officers as defined by article 2.12, then the city may not withhold any information pertaining to the reserve officers under section 552.117(a)(2). To the extent the reserve officers' home and cellular telephone numbers are not excepted from disclosure under section 552.117(a)(2), we will address the applicability of section 552.117(a)(1) of the Government Code to this information, as well as the submitted cellular telephone number of a city administrator.

Section 552.117(a)(1) of the Government Code excepts from disclosure the current and former home addresses and telephone numbers, social security numbers, and family member information of current or former officials or employees of a governmental body who request this information be kept confidential under section 552.024 of the Government Code. Gov't Code § 552.117(a)(1). Whether a particular piece of information is protected by section 552.117(a)(1) must be determined at the time the request for it is made. See Open Records Decision No. 530 at 5 (1989). Accordingly, the city must withhold under section 552.117(a)(1) the remaining home telephone numbers we have marked if the employees at issue timely elected to withhold that information under section 552.024. The city must also withhold under section 552.117(a)(1) the remaining cellular telephone numbers we have marked if the employees at issue both timely elected to withhold that information and paid for the cellular telephone service. However, the city may not withhold the remaining information under section 552.117(a)(1) if the employees at issue did not timely elect to withhold that information or, for the remaining cellular telephone numbers, if the employees at issue did not pay for the cellular telephone service.

To conclude, the city must withhold under section 552.117(a)(2) of the Government Code the home telephone numbers of the city police officers we have marked and the cellular telephone numbers of the city police officers we have marked, to the extent the city police officers paid for the cellular telephone service. If the reserve officers are peace officers as defined by article 2.12 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, then the city must also withhold under section 552.117(a)(2) of the Government Code the home telephone numbers of the reserve officers we have marked and the cellular telephone numbers of the reserve officers we have marked, to the extent the reserve officers paid for the cellular telephone service. To the extent the information at issue is not excepted from disclosure under section 552.117(a)(2), the city must withhold under section 552.117(a)(1) of the Government Code the home and cellular telephone numbers of city employees we have marked if the employees at issue timely elected to withhold that information under section 552.024 and, for the cellular telephone numbers, if the employees paid for the cellular telephone service. The city must release any remaining information.

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,

James L. Coggeshall

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JLC/tf

Ref: ID# 410863

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Although you raise section 552.1175 of the Government Code, the correct exception to raise for information pertaining to an officer employed by the city is section 552.117.

2. The requestor has asked the district to answer questions. The Act does not require a governmental body to answer factual questions, conduct legal research, or create new information in responding to a request. See Open Records Decision Nos. 563 at 8 (1990), 555 at 1-2 (1990). However, a governmental body must make a good faith effort to relate a request to information held by the governmental body. See Open Records Decision No. 561 at 8 (1990). Although we understand the submitted information is not minutes of a city council meeting, we assume the district has made a good faith effort to identify records that are responsive to the request.

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