February 1, 2012

Mr. Gary A. Scott

Assistant City Attorney

City of Conroe

P.O. Box 3066

Conroe, Texas 77305

OR2012-01646

Dear Mr. Scott:

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# 444190.

The City of Conroe (the "city") received a request for all domestic violence records involving the requestor and a named individual. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.130 of the Government Code. 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 the doctrine of common-law privacy, which protects information that (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 elements of the test must be established. Id. at 681-82. A compilation of an individual's criminal history is highly embarrassing information, the publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person. Cf. U. S. Dep't of Justice v. Reporters Comm. for Freedom of the Press, 489 U.S. 749, 764 (1989) (finding significant privacy interest in compilation of individual's criminal history by recognizing distinction between public records found in courthouse files and local police stations and compiled summary of criminal history information). Furthermore, we find a compilation of a private citizen's criminal history is generally not of legitimate concern to the public.

You state the present request requires the city to compile unspecified law enforcement records concerning the named individual and thus implicates this individual's right to privacy. However, after reviewing the request and the submitted information, we find the requestor is seeking specific domestic violence reports involving the requestor and the named individual. Accordingly, the request does not implicate the named individual's right to privacy, and the incident reports of domestic violence involving the requestor and the named individual may not be withheld under section 552.101 on the basis of common-law privacy.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code also encompasses criminal history record information ("CHRI") generated by the National Crime Information Center or by the Texas Crime Information Center. Title 28, part 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations governs the release of CHRI states obtain from the federal government or other states. Open Records Decision No. 565 (1990). The federal regulations allow each state to follow its individual law with respect to CHRI it generates. Id.  Section 411.083 of the Government Code deems confidential CHRI the Texas Department of Public Safety ("DPS") maintains, except DPS may disseminate this information as provided in chapter 411, subchapter F of the Government Code. See Gov't Code § 411.083. Sections 411.083(b)(1) and 411.089(a) authorize a criminal justice agency to obtain CHRI; however, a criminal justice agency may not release CHRI except to another criminal justice agency for a criminal justice purpose. See id. § 411.089(b)(1). Other entities specified in chapter 411 of the Government Code are entitled to obtain CHRI from DPS or another criminal justice agency; however, those entities may not release CHRI except as provided by chapter 411. See generally id. §§ 411.090-.127. Furthermore, any CHRI obtained from DPS or any other criminal justice agency must be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with chapter 411, subchapter F. Upon review, we find a portion of the submitted information, which we have marked, constitutes CHRI which the city must withhold under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with chapter 411 of the Government Code.

Section 552.130 of the Government Code provides information relating to a motor vehicle operator's license, driver's license, or a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state or another state or country is excepted from public release. Id. § 552.130(a)(1), (2). Upon review, we find none of the remaining information is subject to section 552.130, and the city may not withhold it on that basis.

In summary, the city must withhold the information we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with chapter 411 of the Government Code. The city must release the remaining information. ⁽¹⁾

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,

Sean Nottingham

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

SN/agn

Ref: ID# 444190

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We note a portion of the information being released contains information to which the requestor has a right of access. See Gov't Code § 552.023(a) (governmental body may not deny access to person to whom information relates, or that person's representative, solely on grounds that information is considered confidential by privacy principles). If the city receives another request for this information from a different requestor, then the city should again seek a decision from this office. We further note the information being released contains social security numbers. Section 552.147(b) 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. Id. § 552.147(b). We note, however, the requestor has a right of access to her own social security number. See generally id. § 552.023(b).

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