April 11, 2012

Mr. Ronald J. Bounds

Assistant City Attorney

City of Corpus Christi

P.O. Box 9277

Corpus Christi, Texas 78469-9277

OR2012-05200

Dear Mr. Bounds:

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# 450122 (CCPD File Number: PTur1).

The Corpus Christi Police Department (the "department") received a request for a specified report number. You state you have released some of the requested information to the requestor with information subject to section 552.130(a)(1) of the Government Code redacted pursuant to section 552.130(c) of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ You claim that portions of the submitted information are excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.130 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

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 section encompasses the doctrine of common-law privacy, which protects information that (1) contains highly intimate or embarrassing facts, the publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person, and (2) is not of legitimate concern to the public. Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668, 685 (Tex. 1976). This office has found some kinds of medical information or information indicating disabilities or specific illnesses are excepted from required public disclosure under common-law privacy. See Open Records Decision No. 455 (1987) (information pertaining to prescription drugs, specific illnesses, operations and procedures, and physical disabilities protected from disclosure). Upon review, we find the department must withhold the information you have marked, and the additional information we have marked, under section 552.101 in conjunction with common-law privacy.

Section 552.130(a)(2) of the Government Code provides that information relating to a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state or another state or country, is excepted from public release. Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(2). Accordingly, the department must withhold the information you have marked, and the additional information we have marked, under section 552.130.

In summary, the department must withhold the marked information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy and section 552.130 of the Government Code. The department must release the remaining information 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,

Sarah Casterline

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

SEC/som

Ref: ID# 450122

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).

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