January 25, 2012

Ms. Lillian Guillen Graham

Assistant City Attorney

City of Mesquite

PO Box 850137

Mesquite, Texas 75185-0137

OR2012-01271

Dear Ms. Graham:

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# 443281.

The Mesquite Police Department (the "department") received a request for 93 specified incident reports and call sheets. ⁽¹⁾ You state some information will be released to the requestor. You state the department will redact information as permitted by Open Records Letter Nos. 2011-15075 (2011) and 2011-15761 (2011) and section 552.147(b) of the Government Code. ⁽²⁾ You claim portions of the submitted information are excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.130 of the Government Code. We have considered the claimed exceptions 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. This section encompasses the common-law right to privacy, which protects information if it (1) contains highly intimate or embarrassing facts, the publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person, and (2) is not of legitimate concern to the public. Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668, 685 (Tex. 1976). To demonstrate the applicability of common-law privacy, both prongs of this test must be met. Id.at 681-82. This office has found that personal financial information not related to a financial transaction between an individual and a governmental body ordinarily satisfies the first element of the common-law privacy test. See Open Records Decision Nos. 545 at 4 (1990) (attorney general has found information regarding receipt of governmental funds or debts owed to governmental entities is not excepted from public disclosure by common-law privacy), 523 at 4 (1989) (noting distinction under common-law privacy between confidential background financial information furnished to public body about individual and basic facts regarding particular financial transaction between individual and public body). Whether the public's interest in obtaining personal financial information is sufficient to justify its disclosure must be made on case-by-case basis. See Open Records Decision No. 373 at 4 (1983). We agree the personal financial information you have marked, and the additional information we have marked, is highly intimate or embarrassing and a matter of no legitimate public interest and must be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy.

Section 552.130 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure information relating to a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state or another state or country. See Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(2). We agree the department must withhold the remaining motor vehicle information you have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code.

In summary, the department must withhold the information you have marked, and the additional information we have marked, under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy and the remaining information you have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code. The remaining information must be released to the requestor.

You ask this office to issue a previous determination permitting the department to withhold lien information from call sheets under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy. We decline to issue such a previous determination 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,

Misty Haberer Barham

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

MHB/agn

Ref: ID # 443281

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. You state, and provide documentation showing, the department sought and received clarification of the request. See Gov't Code § 552.222(b) (stating if information requested is unclear or large amount has been requested, governmental body may ask requestor to clarify or narrow request, but may not inquire into purpose for which information will be used).

2. Open Records Letter Nos. 2011-15075 and 2011-15761 are previous determinations to the department authorizing the department to withhold the originating telephone numbers and addresses, respectively, of 9-1-1 callers furnished to the department by a service supplier established in accordance with chapter 772 of the Health and Safety Code under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 772.118 of the Health and Safety Code without requesting a decision from this office. 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. See Gov't Code § 552.147(b).

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