June 14, 2011

Mr. Samuel B. Katz

Chief Appellate Prosecutor

Comal County

150 North Seguin, Suite 307

New Braunfels, Texas 78130

OR2011-08383

Dear Mr. Katz:

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# 420431 (Comal County 11-OR-024).

The Comal County Sheriff's Office (the "sheriff") received a request for all information related to a named person, including two specified case numbers. You claim the requested information regarding the specified cases is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.103, 552.108, 552.130, and 552.147 of the Government Code. We have considered the claimed exceptions and reviewed the submitted representative sample of information. ⁽¹⁾

We note the submitted information is subject to section 552.101 of the Government Code. ⁽²⁾ Section 552.101 excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. This exception encompasses information made confidential by other statutes, such as section 261.201 of the Family Code. Section 261.201 provides, in relevant part:

(a) [T]he following information is confidential, is not subject to public release under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may be disclosed only for purposes consistent with this code and applicable federal or state law or under rules adopted by an investigating agency:

(1) a report of alleged or suspected abuse or neglect made under this chapter and the identity of the person making the report; and

(2) except as otherwise provided in this section, the files, reports, records, communications, audiotapes, videotapes, and working papers used or developed in an investigation under this chapter or in providing services as a result of an investigation.

Fam. Code § 261.201(a). Upon review, we find the submitted information constitutes files, reports, records, communications, audiotapes, videotapes, or working papers used or developed in an investigation under chapter 261. See id. § 261.001(1)(E) (definition of child abuse includes sexual assault under Penal Code section 22.011); see also Penal Code § 22.011(c)(1) (defining "child" for purposes of Penal Code section 22.011 as a person younger than 17 years of age). Therefore, this information is within the scope of section 261.201. You do not indicate the sheriff has adopted a rule governing the release of this type of information; therefore, we assume no such regulation exists. Given that assumption, we conclude the requested information regarding the specified cases is confidential pursuant to section 261.201 of the Family Code and must be withheld it in its entirety under section 552.101 of the Government Code. ⁽³⁾

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,

Misty Haberer Barham

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

MHB/bs

Ref: ID # 420431

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We assume 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 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. Open Records Decision Nos. 481 (1987), 480 (1987), 470 (1987).

3. As our ruling is dispositive, we do not address your arguments against disclosure.

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