April 17, 2012

Mr. Jeffrey L. Moore

Brown & Hofmeister, L.L.P.

740 East Campbell Road, Suite 800

Richardson, Texas 75081

OR2012-05441

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# 455163.

The City of The Colony (the "city"), which you represent, received a request for information related to a specified arrest, excluding any information that is confidential. You claim that the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.108 and 552.130 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

We note the requestor has specifically excluded information that is confidential from his request. Because section 552.130 of the Government Code makes information confidential under the Act, driver's license numbers are not responsive to the request. This ruling does not address the public availability of non-responsive information, and the city need not release information that is not responsive to the request.

Section 552.108 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 and why section 552.108 is applicable to the information at issue. See id. § 552.301(e)(1)(A); Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977).

You state the submitted information is related to a pending criminal case. Based on your representation, we conclude section 552.108(a)(1) is generally applicable to the information at issue. See Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975) (court delineates law enforcement interests present in active cases), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976).

We note, however, the submitted information includes a statutory warning and a notice of suspension. Because copies of those documents are provided to the person who is the subject of the warning and the notice, we find release of the statutory warning and the notice of suspension will not interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. See Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). Therefore, the statutory warning and the notice of suspension may not be withheld under section 552.108.

Section 552.108 does not except from disclosure "basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime." Id. § 552.108(c). Section 552.108(c) refers to the basic front-page offense and arrest information held to be public in Houston Chronicle. See 531 S.W.2d at 186-88. The city must release basic information, even if the information does not literally appear on the front page of an offense or arrest report. See Open Records Decision No. 127 at 3-4 (1976) (summarizing types of information deemed public by Houston Chronicle). Except for basic information, the statutory warning, and the notice of suspension, the city may withhold the information at issue under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government 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,

Cindy Nettles

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

CN/dls

Ref: ID# 455163

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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