May 9, 2011

Mr. R. Brooks Moore

Texas A&M University System

Office of the General Counsel

200 Technology Way, Suite 2079

College Station, Texas 77845-3424

OR2011-06419

Dear Mr. Moore:

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# 421481 (TAMU-11-200).

The Texas A&M University (the "university") received a request for information pertaining to a specified incident. You state the university is withholding certain Texas driver's license numbers and Texas license plate numbers pursuant to Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009). ⁽¹⁾ You state the university has released some of the requested information. You claim that a portion of the submitted 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.

Section 552.130 excepts from disclosure "information [that] relates to . . . a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state[.]" Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(2). We note that section 552.130 protects personal privacy. In this instance, you have highlighted the vehicle identification number of the vehicle belonging to requestor's son. However, because section 552.130 is based on privacy principles, the requestor may have a right of access to his son's Texas motor vehicle information under section 552.023 of the Government Code.. See generally id. § 552.023(b) (governmental body may not deny access to person to whom information relates, or that person's representative, solely on grounds that information is considered confidential by privacy principles). Accordingly, if the requestor is his son's authorized representative, then the Texas motor vehicle information may not be withheld from this requestor. If the requestor is not his son's authorized representative, then the marked motor vehicle information must be withheld under section 552.130 of the Government Code. The remaining 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,

Paige Lay

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

PL/eeg

Ref: ID# 421481

Enc. Submitted documents

cc: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

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

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