March 16, 2011

Mr. David M. Douglas

Assistant City Attorney

City of Austin

P.O. Box 1088

Austin, Texas 78767-8828

OR2011-03579

Dear Mr. Douglas:

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# 413977.

The Austin Police Department (the "department") received a request for information relating to a specified incident. You claim 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 representative sample of 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." Gov't Code § 552.101. Section 552.101 encompasses information that other statutes make confidential. Section 261.201(a) of the Family Code provides:

(a) Except as provided by Section 261.203, the following information is confidential, is not subject to public release under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may be disclosed only for purposes consistent with this code and applicable federal or state law or under rules adopted by an investigating agency:

(1) a report of alleged or suspected abuse or neglect made under this chapter and the identity of the person making the report; and

(2) except as otherwise provided in this section, the files, reports, records, communications, audiotapes, videotapes, and working papers used or developed in an investigation under this chapter or in providing services as a result of an investigation.

Fam. Code § 261.201(a). We agree that the submitted information was used or developed in an investigation of alleged or suspected child abuse or neglect under chapter 261 of the Family Code, so as to fall within the scope of section 261.201(a). See id. § 261.001(1), (4) (defining "abuse" and "neglect" for purposes of Fam. Code ch. 261). We therefore conclude that the information at issue is confidential under section 261.201(a). We note the requestor seeks access to this information on behalf of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. Section 261.201 provides that information encompassed by subsection (a) may only be released to certain persons and entities under limited circumstances. See id. § 261.201(a). The requestor has not demonstrated that he falls within any category of persons or entities that are authorized to obtain information that section 261.201(a) makes confidential. See id. § 261.201(b)-(g) (listing entities that are authorized to receive information made confidential by Fam. Code § 261.201(a)); cf. Attorney General Opinion DM-353 at 4 n.6 (1995) (interagency transfer of information prohibited where confidentiality statute enumerates specific entities to which release of information is authorized, and where potential receiving governmental body is not among statute's enumerated entities). Therefore, the department must withhold the submitted information in its entirety under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 261.201(a) of the Family Code. See Open Records Decision No. 440 at 2 (1986) (addressing predecessor statute).

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,

Christina Alvarado

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

CA/tf

Ref: ID# 413977

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We assume the "representative sample" of records 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.

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