March 21, 2011

Ms. Michelle L. Villarreal

Assistant City Attorney

City of Waco

P.O. Box 2570

Waco, Texas 76702-2570

OR2011-03851

Dear Ms. Villarreal:

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# 416351 (LGL #11-236).

The City of Waco (the "city") received a request for information pertaining to a specified incident. You state you will provide the requestor with a portion of the requested information. You claim some of the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.130 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.101 excepts from disclosure "[i]nformation made confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. This section encompasses chapter 772 of the Health and Safety Code, which authorizes the development of local emergency communication districts. Sections 772.118, 772.218, and 772.318 of the Health and Safety Code are applicable to emergency 9-1-1 districts established in accordance with chapter 772. See Open Records Decision No. 649 (1996). These sections make the originating telephone numbers and addresses of 9-1-1 callers furnished by a service supplier confidential. Id. at 2. Section 772.318 applies to an emergency communication district for a county with a population of more than 20,000. Health & Safety Code § 772.318.

We understand that the city is part of an emergency communication district established under section 772.318. You have marked the telephone number and address of a 9-1-1 caller that the city seeks to withhold under that section. Provided that it was furnished by a 9-1-1 service supplier, the city must withhold the marked information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 772.318 of the Health and Safety Code.

You also seek to withhold Texas motor vehicle record information under section 552.130 of the Government Code. Section 552.130 excepts from disclosure information that relates to a Texas motor vehicle operator's or driver's license or permit or a Texas motor vehicle title or registration. Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(1), (2). The city must withhold the Texas motor vehicle information that you have marked under section 552.130. We have marked additional information that must be withheld under section 552.130. ⁽¹⁾

In summary, the city must withhold the telephone number and address you have marked under 552.101 in conjunction with section 772.318 of the Health and Safety Code, provided it was furnished by a 9-1-1 service provider. The city must withhold the Texas motor vehicle record information you have marked, in addition to the information we have marked, under section 552.130 of the Government Code. The remaining information must be released. ⁽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,

Paige Lay

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

PL/eeg

Ref: ID# 416351

Enc. Submitted documents

cc: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We note Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009) is 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.

2. We note the information being released contains social security numbers. 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. Gov't Code § 552.147(b).

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