October 24, 2011

Mr. Kerry D. Sullivan

General Counsel

State Office of Administrative Hearings

P.O. Box 13025

Austin, Texas 78711-3025

OR2011-15533

Dear Mr. Sullivan:

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# 434339.

The State Office of Administrative Hearings ("SOAH") received a request for a recording or transcript of a specified hearing. You claim that the submitted information is 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 exception encompasses information other statutes make confidential. You raise section 1701.454 of the Occupations Code, which governs the public availability of information submitted to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education ("TCLEOSE") under subchapter J of chapter 1701 of the Occupations Code. Section 1701.454 provides as follows:

(a) All information submitted to [TCLEOSE] under this subchapter is confidential and is not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code, unless the person resigned or was terminated due to substantiated incidents of excessive force or violations of the law other than traffic offenses.

(b) Except as provided by this subchapter, a [TCLEOSE] member or other person may not release information submitted under this subchapter.

Act of May 23, 2011, 82^nd Leg., R.S., S.B. 545, § 4 (to be codified as an amendment to Occ. Code § 1701.454). The submitted audio recording consists of information that was submitted to TCLEOSE pursuant to subchapter J of chapter 1701 of the Occupations Code. You inform us that the officer at issue was not terminated due to substantiated incidents of excessive force or violations of the law other than traffic offenses. Therefore, SOAH must withhold the submitted information under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 1701.454 of the Occupations 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,

Cynthia G. Tynan

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

CGT/em

Ref: ID# 434339

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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