October 28, 2011

Mr. Jeff Law

Executive Director/Chief Appraiser

Tarrant Appraisal District

2500 Handley-Ederville Road

Fort Worth, Texas 76118-6909

OR2011-15864

Dear Mr. Law:

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# 434780.

The Tarrant Appraisal District (the "district") received a request for the statement of income submitted with a specified tax exemption application. You claim the information submitted as Exhibit C is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information. We have also considered comments submitted by an attorney who represents the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth (the "diocese"). See Gov't Code § 552.304 (interested party may submit comments stating why information should or should not be released).

Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Id.§ 552.101. This section encompasses information that other statutes make confidential. Both the district and the diocese raise section 552.101 in conjunction with section 22.27 of the Tax Code, which provides in part:

(a) Rendition statements, real and personal property reports, attachments to those statements and reports, and other information the owner of property provides to the appraisal office in connection with the appraisal of the property, including income and expense information related to a property filed with an appraisal office and information voluntarily disclosed to an appraisal office or the comptroller about real or personal property sales prices after a promise it will be held confidential, are confidential and not open to public inspection. The statements and reports and the information they contain about specific real or personal property or a specific real or personal property owner and information voluntarily disclosed to an appraisal office about real or personal property sales prices after a promise it will be held confidential may not be disclosed to anyone other than an employee of the appraisal office who appraises property except as authorized by Subsection(b) of this section.

Tax Code § 22.27(a) (emphasis added). In this instance, the diocese provided the information in Exhibit C to the district in order to obtain a religious property tax exemption pursuant to section 11.20 of the Tax Code. See id § 11.20. Neither you nor the diocese inform us that any of this information was provided to the district in connection with an appraisal of property. See id. § 22.27(a). Furthermore, neither you nor the diocese indicate the information was voluntarily disclosed to the district after a promise that the information would be held confidential. Id. We note that an applicant for a tax exemption must generally furnish the information necessary to determine the validity of an exemption claim. See id. § 11.43(d). Having considered your arguments and reviewed the submitted information, we find you have failed to demonstrate that Exhibit C falls within the scope of section 22.27(a). Thus, the district may not withhold this information under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 22.27(a).

You also raise section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 25.195 of the Tax Code, which provides in part that "[a] property owner or the owner's designated agent is entitled to inspect and copy the appraisal records relating to the property of the property owner," together with supporting data, schedules, and other information, after the chief appraiser has submitted the appraisal records to the appraisal review board. Id. § 25.195(a); see also Open Records Decision No. 500 (1988) (reconciling Tax Code sections 22.27 and 25.195). However, you have not explained how or why section 25.195 would make Exhibit C confidential for the purposes of section 552.101. See Gov't Code § 552.301(e)(1)(A) (governmental body must demonstrate why stated exceptions to disclosure apply); Open Records Decision Nos. 658 at 4 (1998) (statutory confidentiality provision must be express, and confidentiality requirement will not be implied from statutory structure), 525 at 4 (1989) (information cannot be withheld from public disclosure by negative implication simply because statute designates other specific information as public information). Therefore, the district may not withhold Exhibit C under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 25.195.

Lastly, you raise section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 11.48(a) of the Tax Code, which provides:

(a) A driver's license number, personal identification certificate number, or social security account number provided in an application for an exemption filed with a chief appraiser is confidential and not open to public inspection. The information may not be disclosed to anyone other than an employee of the appraisal office who appraises property, except as authorized by Subsection (b).

Tax Code § 11.48(a). Upon review, we find Exhibit C does not contain any information made confidential under section 11.48(a). Accordingly, no portion of Exhibit C is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 11.48(a). As you raise no other exception to disclosure of Exhibit C, this 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,

Kenneth Leland Conyer

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

KLC/agn

Ref: ID# 434780

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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