February 23, 2012

Mr. Brian S. Nelson

General Counsel

Lone Star College System

5000 Research Forest Drive

The Woodlands, Texas 77381

OR2012-02804

Dear Mr. Nelson:

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# 446152 (ORR# PR11-1130-00031).

The Lone Star College System (the "system") received a request for information pertaining to a specified assessment or survey concerning officer training, supervision, and communications. You state you have released some of the requested information. You claim the submitted information, consisting of a thirty-nine page assessment report, is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.108 and 552.111 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

We note the submitted information was the subject of a previous ruling issued by this office, Open Records Letter No. 2011-00265 (2011). In that ruling, this office concluded that the system must withhold certain information under section 552.117 of the Government Code, may withhold certain information under section 552.108(b)(1) of the Government Code, and must release the remaining information.

You now argue the assessment report, which was at issue in the previous ruling, is excepted from disclosure under section 552.111 of the Government Code. We note that because the remaining information at issue was ordered to be released in Open Records Letter No. 2011-00265, this office concluded that the information is not excepted from disclosure under the Act. Pursuant to section 552.301(f) of the Government Code, once this office has determined that information is not excepted from disclosure, a governmental body must release the information and may generally not seek another ruling pertaining to precisely the same information. See Gov't Code § 552.301(f); Open Records Decision No. 665 at 2 (2000) (governmental body not authorized to seek attorney general decision unless it in good faith believes valid legal arguments exist to support claimed exception). Accordingly, the system may not withhold previously released information unless its release is expressly prohibited by law or the information is confidential by law.

In addition, the information at issue is subject to section 552.022(a)(1) of the Government Code, which means it is subject to disclosure unless it is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code, or expressly made confidential under the Act or other law. Gov't Code § 552.022(a)(1). Section 552.111 of the Government Code is a general exception to disclosure that does not prohibit the release of information or make information confidential. See id. § 552.111; Open Records Decision Nos. 665 at 2 n.5 (2000) (discretionary exceptions generally), 470 at 7 (1987) (statutory predecessor to Gov't Code § 552.111 subject to waiver); see also Gov't Code § 552.007. Therefore, because section 552.111 does not make confidential the information at issue and because this office has previously determined that this precise information is not excepted from disclosure, the system may not now seek to withhold the information under section 552.111 of the Government Code. You do not indicate there has been any change in the law, facts, or circumstances on which the previous ruling was based. Accordingly, we conclude the system must rely on Open Records Letter No. 2011-00265 as a previous determination and withhold or release the submitted assessment report in accordance with that ruling. See Open Records Decision No. 673 (2001) (so long as law, facts, and circumstances on which prior ruling was based have not changed, first type of previous determination exists where requested information is precisely same information as was addressed in prior attorney general ruling, ruling is addressed to same governmental body, and ruling concludes that information is or is not excepted from disclosure).

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,

Cindy Nettles

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

CN/dls

Ref: ID# 446152

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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