November 21, 2011

Mr. Gregory A. Alicie

Open Records Specialist

Baytown Police Department

3200 North Main Street

Baytown, Texas 77521

OR2011-17206

Dear Mr. Alicie:

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# 441568.

The Baytown Police Department (the "department") received a request for a specified police report. You state the department will redact social security numbers from the submitted information under section 552.147 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.152 of the Government Code. ⁽²⁾ We have considered the exceptions 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 protected by other statutes. Juvenile law enforcement records relating to delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision that occurred on or after September 1, 1997 are confidential under section 58.007(c) of the Family Code. Fam. Code § 51.03(a), (b) (defining "delinquent conduct" and "conduct indicating a need for supervision"); Act of June 2, 1997, 75th Leg., R.S., ch.1086, § 52, 1997 Tex. Gen. Laws 4199. Section 58.007 provides in relevant part:

(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), law enforcement records and files concerning a child and information stored, by electronic means or otherwise, concerning the child from which a record or file could be generated may not be disclosed to the public and shall be:

(1) if maintained on paper or microfilm, kept separate from adult files and records;

(2) if maintained electronically in the same computer system as records or files relating to adults, be accessible under controls that are separate and distinct from controls to access electronic data concerning adults; and

(3) maintained on a local basis only and not sent to a central state or federal depository, except as provided by Subchapters B, D, and E.

Fam. Code § 58.007(c). For purposes of section 58.007(c), a "child" is a person ten years of age or older and under seventeen years of age at the time of the reported conduct. See id. § 51.02(2). Upon review, we agree that the submitted information involves a child engaged in delinquent conduct that occurred after September 1, 1997. It does not appear that any of the exceptions to confidentiality under section 58.007 apply in this instance. Therefore we find that the submitted information is confidential under section 58.007(c) of the Family Code and must be withheld in its entirety under section 552.101 of the Government Code. ⁽³⁾

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,

Kathryn R. Mattingly

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

KRM/sdk

Ref: ID# 441568

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Section 552.147(b) of the Government Code authorizes a governmental body to redact a living person's social security number from public release without the necessity of requesting a decision from this office under the Act. See Gov't Code § 552.147(b).

2. Although you claim the information is excepted under section 552.151 of the Government Code, we note the 82nd Texas Legislature renumbered section 552.151 to section 552.152 of the Government Code. Act of May 9, 2011, 82d Leg., R.S., ch. 91, § 27.001, 2011 Tex. Gen. Laws 196.

3. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining argument against disclosure.

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