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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
GREG ABBOTT
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November 7, 2011

Ms. Michelle L. Villarreal

Assistant City Attorney

City of Waco

P.O. Box 2570

Waco, Texas 76702-2570

OR2011-16364

Dear Ms. Villarreal:

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# 440104 (LGL 11-1437).

The Waco Police Department (the "department") received a request for information pertaining to a specified accident. You claim 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. Section 552.101 encompasses information made confidential by other statutes. You contend portions of the submitted information are excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 772.318 of the Health and Safety Code. Chapter 772 of the Health and Safety Code relates to local emergency communications districts. Section 772.318 applies to an emergency 9-1-1 district established in accordance with chapter 772, and makes confidential the originating telephone numbers and addresses of 9-1-1 callers that are furnished by a service supplier. See Open Records Decision No. 649 (1996). Section 772.318 applies to an emergency communication district for a county with a population of more than 20,000. You state the City of Waco is part of an emergency communication district established under chapter 772. You seek to withhold a telephone number under section 772.318. Thus, we find to the extent the marked telephone number is the originating telephone number supplied by a 9-1-1 service supplier, the department must withhold this information under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 772.318. However, to the extent the marked information was not supplied by a 9-1-1 service supplier, section 772.318 is not applicable to this information, and it must be released to the requestor.

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,

Ana Carolina Vieira

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

ACV/agn

Ref: ID# 440104

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

 

POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US
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