January 13, 2012

Mr. Jimmy A. Cassels

Cassels & Reynolds, L.L.P.

P.O. Box 1626

Lufkin, Texas 75902-1626

OR2012-00667

Dear Mr. Cassels:

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# 442691.

The Angelina County and Cities Health District (the "district"), which you represent, received a request for audio and video recordings of events during specified time periods.  You claim that the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.130, and 552.139 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information. We have also considered comments submitted by the requestor. See Gov't Code § 552.304 (providing that interested party may submit comments stating why information should or should not be released).

Initially, we note you assert some of the submitted information is not responsive to the instant request for information. Additionally, you inform us that the district asked the requestor for clarification of the request. See Gov't Code § 552.222 (if request for information is unclear, governmental body may ask requestor to clarify request); see also City of Dallas v. Abbott, 304 S.W.3d 380, 387 (Tex. 2010). You inform us that the requestor has not responded to this request for clarification. However, a governmental body must make a good-faith effort to relate a request to information that is within its possession or control. See Open Records Decision No. 561 at 8 (1990). In this case, as you have submitted information for our review and raised an exception to disclosure for this information, we consider the district to have made a good-faith effort to identify the information that is responsive to the request, and we will address the applicability of the claimed exception to the submitted information. We further determine the district has no obligation at this time to release any additional information that may be responsive to the request for which it has not received clarification. However, if the requestor responds to the request for clarification, the district must again seek a ruling from this office before withholding any additional responsive information from the requestor. See City of Dallas, 304 S.W.3d at 387.

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. This exception encompasses information other statutes make confidential. You claim section 552.101 in conjunction with section 418.182 of the Government Code, which was added to chapter 418 of the Government Code as part of the Texas Homeland Security Act. Section 418.182 provides in part:

(a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), information, including access codes and passwords, in the possession of a governmental entity that relates to the specifications, operating procedures, or location of a security system used to protect public or private property from an act of terrorism or related criminal activity is confidential.

(b) Financial information in the possession of a governmental entity that relates to the expenditure of funds by a governmental entity for a security system is public information that is not excepted from required disclosure under Chapter 552.

Id. § 418.182(a), (b). The fact information may generally be related to a security system does not make the information per se confidential under section 418.182. See Open Records Decision No. 649 at 3 (1996) (language of confidentiality provision controls scope of its protection). Furthermore, the mere recitation by a governmental body of a statute's key terms is not sufficient to demonstrate the applicability of a claimed provision. As with any confidentiality provision, a governmental body asserting section 418.182 must adequately explain how the responsive information falls within the scope of the statute. See Gov't Code § 552.301(e)(1)(A) (governmental body must explain how claimed exception to disclosure applies).

You contend the submitted information is confidential under section 418.182. You explain the information at issue relates to the workings, operation, capabilities, limitations and the location of a security system used to protect the district from acts of terrorism or related criminal activity. You assert public disclosure of the information at issue would reveal the type of security equipment the district utilizes, the number and location of the cameras, details of the cameras' pixel and speed capabilities and their scope and purview in capturing images, and other characteristics of the district's security and surveillance systems. Based on your representations and our review of the information at issue, we conclude the district has demonstrated the submitted information falls within the scope of section 418.182(a). Accordingly, the district must withhold the submitted information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 418.182(a) of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ See generally Tex. Dep't of Pub. Safety v. Abbott, 310 S.W.3d 670 (Tex. App.--Austin 2010, no pet.) (finding confidential under section 418.182 of the HSA video recording containing images recorded by security cameras in Texas Capitol hallway, because specifications of security system included cameras' capabilities and video recording demonstrated those capabilities through characteristics, quality, and clarity of images recorded).

You ask this office to issue a previous determination that would permit the district to withhold information related to the district's security or surveillance system, including live-feed images or recordings made from those images, without the necessity of requesting a decision from this office. See Gov't Code § 552.301(a) (allowing governmental body to withhold information subject to previous determination); Open Records Decision No. 673 (2001). We decline to issue such a decision at this time. Accordingly, 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,

Cindy Nettles

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

CN/dls

Ref: ID# 442691

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining arguments.

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