February 14, 2012

Ms. Lillian Guillen Graham

Assistant City Attorney

City of Mesquite

P.O. Box 850137

Mesquite, Texas 75185-0137

OR2012-02285

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# 445457.

The City of Mesquite (the "city") received a request for three categories of information pertaining to a specified address: (1) the history of any repairs related to acquiring a certificate of occupancy; (2) any extensions of time given to previous owners of a named business; and (3) any grandfather clauses concerning city code requirements this business received. You claim that portions of the submitted information are excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information

Initially, you have not submitted information responsive to categories two and three of the request. To the extent the city maintains information responsive to these categories of the request that existed on the date the request was received, we assume you have released it. If you have not released any such information, you must do so at this time. Gov't Code §§ 552.301(a), .302; see also Open Records Decision No. 664 (2000) (if governmental body concludes that no exceptions apply to requested information, it must release information as soon as possible).

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 section 1702.284(a) of the Occupations Code, which provides:

Information contained in alarm systems records maintained by a governmental body that concerns the location of an alarm system, the name of the occupant of an alarm system location, or the type of alarm system used is confidential and may be disclosed only to the [Texas Private Security Board], to the alarm company to which the confidential records relate, or as otherwise required by state law or court order.

Occ. Code § 1702.284(a); see also id. § 1702.002(1)(A)(ii) (defining "alarm system" as electronic equipment and devices designed to detect or signal the occurrence of a robbery or other emergency). Upon review, we find the information we have marked consists of alarm system information made confidential by section 1702.284. Accordingly, the city must withhold the information we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 1702.284 of the Occupations Code. However, you have failed to demonstrate how any portion of the remaining information you have marked concerns the location of an alarm system, the name of the occupant of an alarm system location, or the type of alarm system used. Accordingly, no portion of this information may be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 1702.284 of the Occupations Code. See Open Records Decision Nos. 658 at 4 (1998) (statutory confidentiality provision must be express, and confidentiality requirement will not be implied from statutory structure), 649 at 3 (1996) (language of confidentiality provision controls scope of its protection). As you raise no other exceptions to disclosure of any of the remaining information, the city must release it.

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,

Kenneth Leland Conyer

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

KLC/agn

Ref: ID# 445457

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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