May 3, 2011

Mr. Charles H. Weir

Assistant City Attorney

City of San Antonio

P.O. Box 839966

San Antonio, Texas 78283-3966

OR2011-06031

Dear Mr. Weir:

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# 420994 (COSA File No. W000405).

The San Antonio Police Department (the "department") received a request for information relating to a specified case number. You claim the requested information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the information you submitted.

We note the submitted information includes copies of a crash report that was completed pursuant to chapter 550 of the Transportation Code. See Transp. Code § 550.064 (officer's accident report). Section 550.065(b) of the Transportation Code states that except as provided by subsection (c) or (e), accident reports are privileged and confidential. ⁽¹⁾ See id. § 550.065(b). Section 550.065(c)(4) provides for release of an accident report to a person who provides two of the following three items of information: (1) the date of the accident; (2) the name of any person involved in the accident; and (3) the specific location of the accident. See id. § 550.065(c)(4). Under this provision, the Texas Department of Transportation or another governmental entity is required to release a copy of an accident report to a person who provides the agency with two or more of the items of information specified by the statute. Id. We note the exceptions to disclosure found in the Act are generally not applicable to information another statute makes public. See Open Records Decision Nos. 623 at 3 (1994), 525 at 3 (1989). In this instance, the requestor has provided the department with two of the three specified items of information. Therefore, the crash reports we have marked must be released to this requestor in their entirety pursuant to section 550.065(c)(4) of the Transportation Code.

Next, we address your claim under section 552.108 of the Government Code for the remaining information at issue. Section 552.108(a)(1) excepts from disclosure "[i]nformation held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime . . . if . . . release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime[.]" Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). A governmental body must reasonably explain how and why section 552.108 is applicable to the information at issue. See id. § 552.301(e)(1)(A); Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state release of the remaining information would interfere with an open criminal investigation. Based on your representations, we conclude section 552.108(a)(1) is generally applicable to the remaining information. See Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975) (court delineates law enforcement interests present in active cases), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976).

We note the remaining information includes a statutory warning and a notice of suspension, which we have marked. Because copies of those documents are provided to the person who is the subject of the warning and the notice, we find release of the statutory warning and the notice of suspension will not interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. See Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). Therefore, the statutory warning and the notice of suspension may not be withheld under section 552.108.

We also note section 552.108 does not except from disclosure "basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime." Id. § 552.108(c). Section 552.108(c) refers to the basic front-page information held to be public in Houston Chronicle. See 531 S.W.2d at 186-88. The department must release basic offense and arrest information, including a detailed description of the offenses, even if the information does not literally appear on the front page of an offense or arrest report. See Open Records Decision No. 127 at 3-4 (1976) (summarizing types of information deemed public by Houston Chronicle). Except for basic information, the statutory warning, and the notice of suspension, the department may withhold the remaining information under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code.

Lastly, we note the statutory warning and the notice of suspension contain a Texas driver's license number. Section 552.130 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure information relating to a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license or permit issued by an agency of this state. ⁽²⁾ See Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(1). The department must withhold the Texas driver's license number we have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code. ⁽³⁾

In summary, the department (1) must release the crash reports we have marked in their entirety pursuant to section 550.065(c)(4) of the Transportation Code; (2) may withhold the remaining information under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code, except for the statutory warning and the notice of suspension we have marked and the basic offense and arrest information that must be released under section 552.108(c); (3) must withhold the Texas driver's license number we have marked in the statutory warning and the notice of suspension under section 552.130 of the Government Code; and (4) must release the remaining information in the statutory warning and the notice of suspension. ⁽⁴⁾

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 W. Morris, III

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JWM/em

Ref: ID# 420994

Enc: Submitted information

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from public disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. This exception encompasses information other statutes make confidential.

2. This office will raise section 552.130 on behalf of a governmental body, as this section is a mandatory exception to disclosure. See Gov't Code §§ 552.007, .352; Open Records Decision No. 674 at 3 n.4 (2001) (mandatory exceptions).

3. We note this office issued Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009), a previous determination authorizing all governmental bodies to withhold ten categories of information, including a Texas driver's license number under section 552.130 of the Government Code, without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision.

4. We note basic information includes an arrested person's social security number. 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.

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