 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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September 29, 2011 Ms. Christine Badillo Counsel for Luling Independent School District Walsh, Anderson, Brown, Gallegos and Green, P.C. P.O. Box 2156 Austin, Texas 78768-2156 OR2011-14109 Dear Ms. Badillo: 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# 432368 (TEA Tracking No. 15898). The Luling Independent School District (the "district"), which you represent, received a request for a specified audit report issued by the Texas Education Agency ("TEA") on a specified date. Although you take no position with respect to the public availability of the submitted information, you state release of this information may implicate the interests of TEA. Thus, you notified TEA of the request and of its right to submit arguments to this office as to why its information should not be released. See Gov't Code § 552.304 (interested party may submit comments stating why information should or should not be released). We have received correspondence from TEA. We have considered the submitted argument and have reviewed the submitted information. TEA claims section 552.116 of the Government Code, which provides as follows: (a) An audit working paper of an audit of the state auditor or the auditor of a state agency, an institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code, a county, a municipality, a school district, a hospital district, or a joint board operating under Section 22.074, Transportation Code, including any audit relating to the criminal history background check of a public school employee, is excepted from the requirements of Section 552.021. If information in an audit working paper is also maintained in another record, that other record is not excepted from the requirements of Section 552.021 by this section. (b) In this section: (1) 'Audit' means an audit authorized or required by a statute of this state or the United States, the charter or an ordinance of a municipality, an order of the commissioners court of a county, the bylaws adopted by or other action of the governing board of a hospital district, a resolution or other action of a board of trustees of a school district, including an audit by the district relating to the criminal history background check of a public school employee, or a resolution or other action of a joint board described by Subsection (a) and includes an investigation. (2) 'Audit working paper' includes all information, documentary or otherwise, prepared or maintained in conducting an audit or preparing an audit report, including: (A) intra-agency and interagency communications; and (B) drafts of the audit report or portions of those drafts. Act of May 29, 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., H.B. 2947, §§ 1, 2 (to be codified as amendments to Gov't Code § 552.116(a) and (b)(1)). TEA states the responsive preliminary report constitutes an audit working paper that was prepared or is maintained by TEA's Division of Financial Audits in conjunction with an audit of the district. See Educ. Code § 39.058(b) (stating that TEA shall present preliminary findings and give opportunity for informal review before issuing a final report). TEA informs us that this audit is being conducted under the authority granted to TEA by section 39.057(a)(4) of the Education Code. See id. § 39.057 (listing circumstances in which the commissioner shall authorize investigations). Based on TEA's representations and our review of the information at issue, we agree that section 552.116 is applicable in this instance. We therefore conclude the district may withhold the submitted information on behalf of TEA pursuant to section 552.116 of the Government 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, Sean Opperman Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division SO/dls Ref: ID# 432368 Enc. Submitted documents c: Requestor (w/o enclosures) Mr. W. Montgomery Meitler Assistant Counsel Texas Education Agency 1701 North Congress Avenue Austin, Texas 78701 (w/o enclosures)
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