August 17, 2011

Mr. Robert Almonte

Assistant City Attorney

City of El Paso

2 Civic Center Plaza, 9^th Floor

El Paso, Texas 79901

OR2011-11892

Dear Mr. Almonte:

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# 431496.

The El Paso Police Department (the "department") received a request for the breathalizer test results from a specified incident. 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 submitted information.

Initially, we note most of the submitted information is not responsive to the instant request for information. The requestor only asks for breathalizer test results Accordingly, only the breathalizer test results are responsive to this request. This ruling does not address the public availability of nonresponsive information, and the department is not required to release nonresponsive information in response to this request.

The responsive information consists of the results of an analysis of a breath specimen. Section 724.018 of the Transportation Code provides that upon the request of the person who has given a specimen at the request of a peace officer, full information concerning the analysis of the specimen must be made available to that person or the person's attorney. As a general rule, the exceptions to disclosure found in the Act do not apply to information that other statutes make public. See Open Records Decision Nos. 623 at 3 (1994), 525 at 3 (1989). In this instance, the requestor is the person who gave the specimen at the request of a peace officer. Therefore, the submitted results of the analysis of the breath specimen must be released to this requestor pursuant to section 724.018 of the Transportation Code.

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,

Tamara H. Holland

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

THH/em

Ref: ID# 431496

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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