June 9, 2011

Ms. Candice M. Gambrell

Assistant City Attorney

City of Houston - Legal Department

P.O. Box 368

Houston, Texas 77001-0368

OR2011-08229

Dear Ms. Gambrell:

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# 424939 (GC Nos. 18586 & 18588).

The Houston Police Department (the "department") received two requests for information pertaining to a specified traffic fatality accident. You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information. ⁽¹⁾

Initially, we note the submitted information includes a document filed with a court, which is expressly public under section 552.022(a)(17) of the Government Code. See Gov't Code § 552.022(a)(17). Such information must be released unless it is expressly confidential under "other law." You claim the court-filed document is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. However, section 552.108 is a discretionary exception that protects a governmental body's interests and is, therefore, not "other law" for purposes of section 552.022(a)(17). See Open Records Decision Nos. 665 at 2 n.5 (2000) (discretionary exceptions generally), 586 (1991) (governmental body may waive section 552.108). Therefore, the department may not withhold the court-filed document, which we have marked, under section 552.108 of the Government Code.

Next, you claim the remaining information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code, which excepts "[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). Generally, a governmental body claiming section 552.108(a)(1) must reasonably explain how and why the release of the requested information would interfere with law enforcement. See id. §§ 552.108(a)(1), .301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state that the remaining information at issue relates to an open and active criminal investigation. Based upon your representation and our review, we conclude that the release of the remaining information at issue would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. 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 that are present in active cases), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976). Thus, section 552.108(a)(1) is applicable to the remaining information.

However, basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime is not excepted from disclosure under section 552.108. Gov't Code § 552.108(c). Such basic information refers to the information held to be public in Houston Chronicle. See 531 S.W.2d at 186-8; see also Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information deemed public by Houston Chronicle). Thus, with the exception of basic information, which must be released, the department may withhold the remaining information under section 552.108(a)(1).

We note that the court-filed document contains information that is subject to section 552.130 of the Government Code. ⁽²⁾ Section 552.130 excepts from public 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). Upon review, we find the department must withhold the Texas motor vehicle record information we have marked in the court filed document under section 552.130 of the Government Code. ⁽³⁾

In summary, with the exception of the marked court-filed document and basic information, the department may withhold the submitted information under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. The department must withhold the Texas motor vehicle record information we have marked in the court-filed document 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,

Laura Ream Lemus

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

LRL/em

Ref: ID# 424939

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestors

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We assume that 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.

2. The Office of the Attorney General will raise a mandatory exception on behalf of a governmental body, but ordinarily will not raise other exceptions. See Open Records Decision Nos. 481 (1987), 480 (1987), 470 (1987).

3. 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 license plate numbers, under section 552.130 of the Government Code, without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision.

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