February 15, 2012

Ms. Shirley Thomas

Acting General Counsel

Dallas Area Rapid Transit

P.O. Box 660163

Dallas, Texas 75266-0163

OR2012-02370

Dear Ms. Thomas:

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# 449239 (ORR 8766).

Dallas Area Rapid Transit ("DART") received a request for information pertaining to a specified accident. You claim a portion of the requested information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.102(a) of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.102(a) of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information in a personnel file, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." Gov't Code § 552.102(a). The Texas Supreme Court held section 552.102(a) excepts from disclosure the dates of birth of state employees in the payroll database of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Tex. Comptroller of Pub. Accounts v. Attorney Gen. of Tex., No. 08-0172, 2010 WL 4910163 (Tex. Dec. 3, 2010). Thus, Texas Comptroller applies only to a public employee's birth date maintained by the employer in an employment context. In this instance, DART is not holding the submitted law enforcement record in an employment context. Therefore, we conclude DART may not withhold the date of birth at issue under section 552.102(a) of the Government Code.

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,

Tamara H. Holland

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

THH/ag

Ref: ID# 449239

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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