September 9, 2011

Ms. Bridget Chapman

Acting City Attorney

City of Georgetown

P.O. Box 409

Georgetown, Texas 78627-0409

OR2011-13020

Dear Ms. Chapman:

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# 429520.

The City of Georgetown (the "city") received a request for the top twenty-five residential and top twenty-five commercial addresses within the city that have the largest amount of water usage for a specified period of time, the amount of water used at the addresses, and the amount the city billed the addresses for the water usage. You state the city has released responsive information for the commercial addresses, as well as for some of the residential addresses. You claim that portions of the submitted information are excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

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 information protected by other statutes, such as section 182.052 of the Utilities Code, which provides, in part:

(a) Except as provided by Section 182.054, a government-operated utility may not disclose personal information in a customer's account record, or any information relating to the volume or units of utility usage or the amounts billed to or collected from the individual for utility usage, if the customer requests that the government-operated utility keep the information confidential. However, a government-operated utility may disclose information related to the customer's volume or units of utility usage or amounts billed to or collected from the individual for utility usage if the primary source of water for such utility was a sole-source designated aquifer.

(b) A customer may request confidentiality by delivering to the government-operated utility an appropriately marked form provided under Subsection (c)(3) or any other written request for confidentiality.

c) A government-operated utility shall include with a bill sent to each customer:

. . .

(3) a form by which the customer may request confidentiality by marking an appropriate box on the form and returning it to the government-operated utility.

Util. Code § 182.052(a)-(b), (c)(3). "Personal information" under section 182.052(a) is defined as "an individual's address, telephone number, or social security number," and does not include the individual's name. See id. § 182.051(4); see also Open Records Decision No. 625 (1994) (construing statutory predecessor). Water service is included in the scope of utility services covered by section 182.052. Util. Code § 182.051(3).

Section 182.052(b) provides the means by which a customer may request confidentiality for his or her personal information, certain utility usage information, and information relating to the amounts billed to or collected from the customer for utility usage. See id. § 182.052(a), (b). You state, and provide documentation demonstrating, the two customers whose information is at issue requested confidentiality for their personal information prior to the date the city received the request for information. However, upon review we find the city's election form permits a customer to request confidentiality for only the customer's "address, telephone number and social security number," and it does not provide a means for a customer to request confidentiality for his or her consumption and billing information. Although you seek to withhold the two customers' consumption and billing amounts under section 182.052(a) of the Utilities Code, we find that, because the customers did not request confidentiality for this information, the city may not withhold it on that basis. See Open Records Decision No. 478 at 2 (1987) (language of confidentiality statute controls scope of protection). Accordingly, the city must withhold only the addresses of the two customers whose information is at issue under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 182.052(a) of the Utilities Code. As you claim no other exceptions to disclosure, 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,

Lindsay E. Hale

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

LEH/bs

Ref: ID# 429520

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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