April 7, 2011

Ms. T. Trisha Dang

Assistant City Attorney

City of Corpus Christi

P.O. Box 9277

Corpus Christi, Texas 78469-9277

OR2011-04819

Dear Ms. Dang:

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# 414074.

The Corpus Christi Police Department (the "department") received a request for the audio recording of a specified 9-1-1 call. You claim that some of the requested information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.130 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Initially, we must address the department's obligations under the Act. Section 552.301 of the Government Code describes the procedural obligations placed on a governmental body that receives a written request for information it wishes to withhold. Pursuant to section 552.301(b) of the Government Code, the governmental body must request a ruling from this office and state the exceptions to disclosure that apply within ten business days after receiving the request. See Gov't Code § 552.301(b). You state the department received the request for information on January 17, 2011. Accordingly, the tenth business day after the receipt of the instant request was January 31, 2011. However, the department's request for a ruling was postmarked February 1, 2011. See id. § 552.308 (describing rules for calculating submission dates of documents sent via first class United States mail). You do not inform this office the department was closed for business any days between January 17 and January 31. Consequently, we find the department failed to comply with the requirements of section 552.301 of the Government Code.

Pursuant to section 552.302 of the Government Code, a governmental body's failure to comply with the procedural requirements of section 552.301 results in the legal presumption that the requested information is public and must be released; the governmental body can overcome this presumption only by demonstrating a compelling reason to withhold the information from disclosure. See id. § 552.302; Simmons v. Kuzmich, 166 S.W.3d 342, 350 (Tex. App.--Fort Worth 2005, no pet.); Hancock v. State Bd. of Ins., 797 S.W.2d 379, 381 (Tex. App.--Austin 1990, no writ); see also Open Records Decision No. 630 (1994). A compelling reason generally exists when third-party interests are at stake or when information is confidential under other law. Open Records Decision No. 150 (1977). Because section 552.130 of the Government Code can provide a compelling reason to withhold information, we will consider the applicability of this exception to the submitted information.

Section 552.130 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure information that relates to a Texas motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state. Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(2). You seek to withhold the submitted 9-1-1 audio recording in its entirety under section 552.130 because you state the department lacks the technological capability to redact the license plate number from the recording. Upon review, we conclude the department must withhold the Texas license plate number that is not associated with the requestor under section 552.130 of the Government Code. As you state the department lacks the technical capacity to redact the information at issue from the audio recording, the department must withhold the audio recording in its entirety on the basis of section 552.130 of the Government Code.

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,

Cindy Nettles

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

CN/dls

Ref: ID# 414074

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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