July 22, 2011

Ms. Sylvia McClellan

Assistant City Attorney

Criminal Law and Police Division

City of Dallas

1400 South Lamar

Dallas, Texas 75215

OR2011-10541

Dear Ms. McClellan:

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# 425115 (DPD No. 2011-3984.)

The Dallas Police Department (the "department") received a request for all information related to a specified incident. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.117, and 552.136 of the Government Code. We have considered the claimed exceptions and reviewed the submitted representative sample of information. ⁽¹⁾

Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. This section encompasses the common-law right to privacy, which protects information if it (1) contains highly intimate or embarrassing facts, the publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person, and (2) is not of legitimate concern to the public. Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668, 685 (Tex. 1976). To demonstrate the applicability of common-law privacy, both prongs of this test must be met. Id. at 681-82. This office has found financial information that does not relate to a financial transaction between an individual and a governmental body ordinarily satisfies the first requirement of the test for common-law privacy. For example, information related to an individual's mortgage payments, assets, bills, and credit history is generally protected by the common-law right to privacy. See Open Records Decision Nos. 545 (1990), 523 (1989); see also Open Records Decision No. 600 (1992) (public employee's withholding allowance certificate, designation of beneficiary of employee's retirement benefits, direct deposit authorization, and employee's decisions regarding voluntary benefits programs are protected under common-law privacy). However, there is a legitimate public interest in the essential facts about a financial transaction between an individual and a governmental body. See ORDs 600 at 9 (information revealing employee participation in group insurance plan funded partly or wholly by governmental body is not excepted from disclosure), 545 (financial information pertaining to receipt of funds from governmental body or debts owed to governmental body not protected by common-law privacy). Upon review, we find the information you have marked constitutes personal financial details that are not of legitimate public interest. Therefore, the department must withhold the information you have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy. ⁽²⁾

Section 552.117(a)(2) of the Government Code excepts from public disclosure the current and former home addresses and telephone numbers, emergency contact information, social security number, and family member information of a peace officer, regardless of whether the peace officer made an election under sections 552.024 or 552.1175 of the Government Code to keep such information confidential. Act of May 24, 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., S.B. 1638, § 2 (to be codified as an amendment to Gov't Code § 552.117(a)). Section 552.117(a)(2) applies to peace officers as defined by article 2.12 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Accordingly, the department must withhold the information you have marked under section 552.117(a)(2).

Section 552.136 of the Government Code provides that "[n]otwithstanding any other provision of [the Act], a credit card, debit card, charge card, or access device number that is collected, assembled, or maintained by or for a governmental body is confidential." Gov't Code § 552.136(b); see id. § 552.136(a) (defining "access device"). You inform us an employee's identification number is used in conjunction with one additional digit in order to access the employee's credit union account. Thus, we agree the department must withhold the identification numbers you have marked under section 552.136 of the Government Code.

In summary, the department must withhold the information you have marked under section 552.101 in conjunction with common-law privacy and under sections 552.117 and 552.136. The remaining information must be released to the requestor.

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/agn

Ref: ID # 425115

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. Because our ruling as to this information is dispositive, we do not address your remaining argument against disclosure for a portion of this information.

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