February 15, 2012

Ms. Lillian Guillen Graham

Assistant City Attorney

City of Mesquite

P.O. Box 850137

Mesquite, Texas 75185-0137

OR2012-02378

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# 449725.

The Mesquite Police Department (the "department") received a request for a specified call sheet. You state some of the requested information has been released. You inform us the originating telephone number of a 9-1-1 caller will be withheld pursuant to the previous determination issued to the department under section 772.118 of the Health and Safety Code in Open Records Letter No. 2011-15075 (2011). See Open Records Decision No. 673 (2001) (previous determinations). You claim the rest of the requested 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 information you submitted.

We note this office issued a previous determination in Open Records Letter No. 2012-01375 (2012) authorizing the department to withhold motor vehicle lien information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy, including the date of the lien, the name and address of the lien holder, and the word "lien" when accompanied by the foregoing information. Therefore, the department may dispose of motor vehicle lien information in accordance with Open Records Letter No. 2012-01375.

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 exception encompasses common-law privacy, which protects information that is highly intimate or embarrassing, such that its release would be highly objectionable to a person of ordinary sensibilities, and of no legitimate public interest. See Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668, 685 (Tex. 1976). This office has determined common-law privacy encompasses certain types of personal financial information. Personal financial information related only to an individual ordinarily satisfies the first element of the common-law privacy test, but the public has a legitimate interest in the essential facts about a financial transaction between an individual and a governmental body. See Open Records Decision Nos. 545 at 4 (1990) (attorney general has found kinds of financial information not excepted from public disclosure by common-law privacy to generally be those regarding receipt of governmental funds or debts owed to governmental entities), 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), 373 at 4 (1983) (determination of whether public's interest in obtaining personal financial information is sufficient to justify its disclosure must be made on case-by-case basis). We conclude the personal financial information we have marked is highly intimate or embarrassing and not a matter of legitimate public concern. Therefore, the department must withhold the marked information 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 related 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 motor vehicle information you have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾

In summary, the department (1) may dispose of motor vehicle lien information in accordance with the previous determination issued in Open Records Letter No. 2012-01375; (2) must withhold the personal financial information we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy; and (3) must withhold the motor vehicle information you have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code. ⁽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,

James W. Morris, III

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JWM/em

Ref: ID# 449725

Enc: Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We note Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009) is a previous determination issued by this office authorizing all governmental bodies to withhold ten categories of information without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision, including a Texas license plate number under section 552.130 of the Government Code.

2. As we are able to make these determinations, we need not address your other arguments against disclosure.

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