November 29, 2011

Mr. R. Brooks Moore

Texas A&M University System

Office of the General Counsel

200 Technology Way, Suite 2079

College Station, Texas 77845-3424

OR2011-17534

Dear Mr. Moore:

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# 442617 (TAMU Request No. 11-650).

Texas A&M University (the "university") received a request for information pertaining to a specified incident. You state the university is withholding a Texas driver's license number and Texas license plate number pursuant to Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009). ⁽¹⁾ You state the university has released some of the requested information. You claim a portion of the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.130 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.130 of the Government Code provides information relating to a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state or another state or country is excepted from public release. Act of May 24, 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., S.B. 1638, § 4 (to be codified as an amendment to Gov't Code § 552.130). However, this exception protects personal privacy. We note the requestor in this instance is a representative of the company that insured the vehicle at issue. As such, this requestor, as the authorized representative of the insured in this matter, has a right of access to the insured's marked motor vehicle record information. See Gov't Code § 552.023(a); Open Records Decision No. 481 at 4 (1987) (privacy theories not implicated when an individual or authorized representative asks governmental body to provide information concerning that individual). Therefore, the university may not withhold the marked motor vehicle record information from this requestor under section 552.130 of the Government Code. As no other exceptions to the disclosure of the marked information are raised, it 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,

Ana Carolina Vieira

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

ACV/agn

Ref: ID# 442617

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Open Records Decision No. 684 is a previous determination to all governmental bodies authorizing them to withhold ten categories of information, including Texas driver's license and Texas license plate numbers under section 552.130 of the Government Code, without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision. However, on September 1, 2011, the Texas legislature amended section 552.130 to allow a governmental body to redact the information described in subsections 552.130(a)(1) and (a)(3) without the necessity of seeking a decision from the attorney general. See Act of May 30, 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., S.B. 602, § 22 (to be codified as Gov't Code § 552.130(c)). If a governmental body redacts such information, it must notify the requestor in accordance with section 552.130(e). See Act of May 30, 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., S.B. 602, § 22 (to be codified as Gov't Code § 552.130(d), (e)). Thus, the statutory amendments to section 552.130 of the Government Code superceded Open Records Decision No. 684 on September 1, 2011. Therefore, a governmental body may only redact information subject to subsections 552.130(a)(1) and (a)(3) in accordance with section 552.130, not Open Records Decision No. 684.

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