February 9, 2012

Mr. Mark G. Mann

Assistant City Attorney

City of Garland

P.O. Box 469002

Garland, Texas 75046-9002

OR2012-02062

Dear Mr. Mann:

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# 444936 (GCA11-0914).

The Garland Police Department (the "department") received a request for a video recording pertaining to a specified incident. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Initially, we note the submitted arrest report is not responsive to the instant request. The department need not release this non-responsive information in response to this request, and this ruling will not address that 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 information made confidential by other statutes, such as section 143.090 of the Local Government Code. You state the City of Garland is a civil service city under chapter 143 of the Local Government Code. Section 143.090 provides as follows:

A department, [the Fire Fighters' and Police Officers' Civil Service Commission], or municipality may not release a photograph that depicts a police officer unless:

(1) the officer has been charged with an offense by indictment or by information;

(2) the officer is a party in a civil service hearing or a case before a hearing examiner or in arbitration;

(3) the photograph is introduced as evidence in a judicial proceeding; or

(4) the officer gives written consent to the release of the photograph.

Local Gov't Code § 143.090. You seek to withhold the submitted video recording depicting department officers. However, the legislative history for section 143.090 indicates the Legislature did not intend to extend the statute's protection to video recordings. Hearings on H.B. 2006 Before the House Comm. on Urban Affairs, 82nd Leg., R.S. (March 30, 2011) (bill's author, Rep. Bonnen, explained statute's protection limited to photographs and does not protect video). Accordingly, we conclude that no portion of the video recording may be withheld under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 143.090 of the Local Government Code.

We note portions of the submitted video recording are subject to section 552.130 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ Section 552.130 of the Government Code provides information relating to a motor vehicle title or registration issued by a Texas agency, or an agency of another state or country, is excepted from public release. Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(2). We note the requestor has a right of access to his own motor vehicle record information pursuant to section 552.023 of the Government Code. See id. § 552.023(b) (governmental body may not deny access to person to whom information relates or person's agent on grounds that information is considered confidential by privacy principles); Open Records Decision No. 481 at 4 (1987) (privacy theories not implicated when individuals request information concerning themselves). Accordingly, with the exception of the requestor's license plate number, we find the department must withhold the portions of the submitted video recording that depict discernible license plate numbers under section 552.130 of the Government Code. As you raise no further exceptions to disclosure, the department must release the remaining information. ⁽²⁾

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# 444936

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. The Office of the Attorney General will raise a mandatory exception on behalf of a governmental body, but ordinarily will not raise other exceptions. See Open Records Decision Nos. 481 (1987), 480 (1987), 470 (1987).

2. Because the requestor has a right of access to some of the information being released, if the department receives another request for this information from an individual other than this requestor, the department must again seek a ruling from this office.

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