February 24, 2012

Mr. R. Brooks Moore

Managing Counsel, Governance

The Texas A&M University System

301 Tarrow Street, 6th Floor

College Station, Texas 77840-7896

OR2012-02853

Dear Mr. Moore:

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# 446392 (TAMU 11-742).

Texas A&M University (the "university") received a request for university police reports pertaining to a specified incident. You state some information is being released to the requestor. You state the university will redact driver's license numbers as permitted by section 552.130 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ You claim portions of the submitted information are excepted from disclosure under sections 552.103 and 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the claimed exceptions and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "[i]nformation held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime . . . if . . . release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime[.]" Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). A governmental body must reasonably explain how release of the information at issue would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. See id. § 552.301(e)(1)(A) (governmental body must provide comments explaining why exceptions raised should apply to information requested); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You provide a representation from the Brazos County District Attorney's Office stating that the requested information pertains to pending criminal prosecutions and release of the information would interfere with the prosecutions. Based on this representation and our review of the information, we conclude release of the information at issue would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of a crime. See Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975) (court describes law enforcement interests that are present in active cases), writ ref'd per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976). Therefore, the university may withhold the information you have marked under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. ⁽²⁾ As you raise no additional exceptions to disclosure, the remaining information must be released to the requestor.

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,

Misty Haberer Barham

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

MHB/eb

Ref: ID # 446392

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Section 552.130(c) of the Government Code authorizes a governmental body to redact, without the necessity of requesting a decision from this office, the motor vehicle record information described in subsections 552.130(a)(1) and (a)(3). See Gov't Code § 552.130(c); see also id. § 552.130(d)-(e) (requestor may appeal governmental body's decision to withhold information under section 552.130(c) to attorney general and governmental body withholding information pursuant to section 552.130(c) must provide certain notice to requestor). We note section 552.130 does not protect the state of issuance of a driver's license, and such information may not be withheld on that basis.

2. Because our ruling is dispositive, we do not address your remaining argument against disclosure.

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