![]() ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
March 8, 2012 Mr. Charles H. Weir Assistant City Attorney City of San Antonio P.O. Box 839966 San Antonio, Texas 78283 OR2012-03526 Dear Mr. Weir: 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# 452206 (COSA File No. W005862). The San Antonio Police Department (the "department") received a request for breath test results related to a specified case number. You claim the requested information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the information you submitted. We first note the requestor specifically seeks access to the submitted breath test results. Thus, the rest of the submitted information is not responsive to the request. This decision does not address the public availability of information that is not responsive to the request, and the department need not release such information in response to the request. Section 724.018 of the Transportation Code provides that on the request of the person who has given a specimen at the request of a peace officer, full information concerning the analysis of the specimen must be made available to that person or the person's attorney. Although you seek to withhold the information to which the requestor seeks access under section 552.108 of the Government Code, as a general rule the exceptions to disclosure found in the Act do not apply to information other statutes make public. See Open Records Decision Nos. 623 at 3 (1994), 525 at 3 (1989). In this instance, the requestor is the person who gave the breath specimen at the request of a peace officer. Therefore, the submitted results of the analysis of the breath specimen must be released to this requestor pursuant to section 724.018 of the Transportation 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, James W. Morris, III Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division JWM/em Ref: ID# 452206 Enc: Submitted documents c: Requestor (w/o enclosures)
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