March 11, 2011

Ms. Rebecca Merrill

Assistant General Counsel

Teacher Retirement System of Texas

1000 Red River Street

Austin, Texas 78701

OR2011-03389

Dear Ms. Merrill:

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# 411335.

The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (the "system") received a request for the final bid tabulation and all responses, excluding the response from the requestor's company, submitted for Invitation to Bid 1105101F-SG. ⁽¹⁾ You state the system provided most of the requested information to the requestor. Although you indicate the system takes no position with respect to the public availability of the remaining requested information, you state its release may implicate the proprietary interests of PrintMailPro. Accordingly, you state, and provide documentation showing, the system notified PrintMailPro of the request and of its right to submit arguments to this office as to why the submitted business reference information should not be released. See Gov't Code § 552.305(d); see also Open Records Decision No. 542 (1990) (determining statutory predecessor to section 552.305 permits governmental body to rely on interested third party to raise and explain the applicability of exception to disclose under Act in certain circumstances). We have reviewed the submitted information.

An interested third party is allowed ten business days after the date of its receipt of the governmental body's notice under section 552.305(d) to submit its reasons, if any, as to why information relating to that party should be withheld from public disclosure. See Gov't Code § 552.305(d)(2)(B). As of the date of this letter, we have not received comments from PrintMailPro explaining why the submitted information should not be released. Therefore, we have no basis to conclude PrintMailPro has protected proprietary interests in this information. See id. § 552.110; Open Records Decision Nos. 661 at 5-6 (1999) (to prevent disclosure of commercial or financial information, party must show by specific factual evidence, not conclusory or generalized allegations, that release of requested information would cause that party substantial competitive harm), 552 at 5 (1990) (party must establish prima facie case that information is trade secret), 542 at 3 (1990). Consequently, the system may not withhold any of the submitted business reference information on the basis of any proprietary interests PrintMailPro may have in the information. As no exceptions to disclosure have been claimed, the submitted 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,

Leah B. Wingerson

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

LBW/dls

Ref: ID# 411335

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. You state, and provide documentation showing, the city sought and received clarification from the requestor regarding the request. See Gov't Code § 552.222(b) (stating if information requested is unclear to governmental body or if large amount of information has been requested, governmental body may ask requestor to clarify or narrow request, but may not inquire into purpose for which information will be used).

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