 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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November 15, 2011 Ms. Janet Monteros Assistant County Attorney El Paso County Attorney's Office 500 East San Antonio, Room 503 El Paso, Texas 79901 OR2011-16809 Dear Ms. Monteros: 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# 436083 (ORR# CA-OP-11-357). The El Paso County Sheriff's Office (the "sheriff") received a request for case number OCA 1102-00344. You state the sheriff has released some of the requested information, including the requested accident report. See Transp. Code § 550.065(c)(4) (officer's accident report must be released to person who provides two of the following three pieces of information: date of accident; name of any person involved in accident; specific location of accident). You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.103 and 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information. You state the submitted information was the subject of a previous request for information, as a result of which this office issued Open Records Letter No. 2011-09400 (2011). In that ruling, we determined the sheriff must release the basic information pursuant to section 552.108(c) of the Government Code, but the sheriff may withhold the information you marked under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code, must withhold the motor vehicle record information under section 552.130 of the Government Code, and may withhold the social security numbers under section 552.147 of the Government Code. You state there has been no change in the law, facts, or circumstances on which the previous ruling was based. Accordingly, we conclude the sheriff must rely on Open Records Letter No. 2011-09400 as a previous determination and withhold or release the identical information in accordance with that ruling. See Open Records Decision No. 673 (2001) (so long as law, facts, and circumstances on which prior ruling was based have not changed, first type of previous determination exists where requested information is precisely same information as was addressed in prior attorney general ruling, ruling is addressed to same governmental body, and ruling concludes that information is or is not excepted from disclosure). As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your arguments against release of the submitted information. 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, Claire V. Morris Sloan Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division CVMS/agn Ref: ID# 436083 Enc. Submitted documents c: Requestor (w/o enclosures)
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