February 28, 2012

Mr. Jaime J. Muñoz

Attorney at Law

P.O. Box 47

San Juan, Texas 78589

OR2012-03080

Dear Mr. Muñoz:

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# 446686.

The La Joya Independent School District (the "district"), which you represent, received a request for "all written correspondence between the district and [the] City of La Joya [(the "city")] regarding the construction and proposed site of a new municipal library" for a specified time period. You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.105 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.105 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure information relating to:

(1) the location of real or personal property for a public purpose prior to public announcement of the project; or

(2) appraisals or purchase price of real or personal property for a public purpose prior to the formal award of contracts for the property.

Gov't Code § 552.105. Section 552.105 is designed to protect a governmental body's planning and negotiating position with respect to particular transactions. Open Records Decision Nos. 564 at 2 (1990), 357 (1982), 310 (1982). Information that is excepted from disclosure under section 552.105 that pertains to such negotiations may be excepted from disclosure so long as the transaction relating to that information is not complete. See ORD 310. Under section 552.105, a governmental body may withhold information "which, if released, would impair or tend to impair [its] 'planning and negotiating position in regard to particular transactions.'" ORD 357 at 3 (quoting Open Records Decision No. 222 (1979)). The question of whether specific information, if publicly released, would impair a governmental body's planning and negotiating position with regard to particular transactions is a question of fact. Accordingly, this office will accept a governmental body's good-faith determination in this regard, unless the contrary is clearly shown as a matter of law. See ORD 564.

The submitted information pertains to land the district dedicated to the city for a right of way. You generally state release of the submitted information "would damage the [district's] and/or the [city's] negotiating position with respect to the acquisition of any property." Upon review, we find that you have failed to demonstrate how release of the submitted information would impair the district's negotiating position with respect to a particular transaction involving district property. As such, the district may not withhold any of the submitted information under section 552.105. As you raise no further exceptions to disclosure, the district must release the submitted information.

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,

Lindsay E. Hale

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

LEH/ag

Ref: ID# 446686

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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