April 30, 2012

Mr. Charles H. Weir

Assistant City Attorney

City of San Antonio

P.O. Box 839966

San Antonio, Texas 78283

OR2012-06232

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# 452204 (COSA File No. W005861).

The City of San Antonio (the "city") received a request for a specified police report. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception 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 information protected by other statutes, such as section 261.201 of the Family Code, which provides:

(a) [T]he following information is confidential, is not subject to public release under [the Act] and may be disclosed only for purposes consistent with this code and applicable federal or state law or under rules adopted by an investigating agency:

(1) a report of alleged or suspected abuse or neglect made under this chapter and the identity of the person making the report; and

(2) except as otherwise provided in this section, the files, reports, records, communications, audiotapes, videotapes, and working papers used or developed in an investigation under this chapter or in providing services as a result of an investigation.

. . .

(k) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), an investigating agency, other than the department or the Texas Youth Commission, on request, shall provide to the parent, managing conservator, or other legal representative of a child who is the subject of reported abuse or neglect, or to the child if the child is at least 18 years of age, information concerning the reported abuse or neglect that would otherwise be confidential under this section. The investigating agency shall withhold information under this subsection if the parent, managing conservator, or other legal representative of the child requesting the information is alleged to have committed the abuse or neglect.

(l) Before a child or a parent, managing conservator, or other legal representative of a child may inspect or copy a record or file concerning the child under Subsection (k), the custodian of the record or file must redact:

(1) any personally identifiable information about a victim or witness under 18 years of age unless that victim or witness is:

(A) the child who is the subject of the report; or

(B) another child of the parent, managing conservator, or other legal representative requesting the information;

(2) any information that is excepted from required disclosure under [the Act], or other law; and

(3) the identity of the person who made the report.

Fam. Code § 261.201(a), (k), (l). You state the submitted report pertains to an investigation of alleged or suspected child abuse. See id. § 261.001(1) (defining "abuse" for purposes of Family Code ch. 261); see also id. § 101.003(a) (defining "child" for purposes of this section as person under 18 years of age who is not and has not been married or who has not had the disabilities of minority removed for general purposes). As such, the submitted report is within the scope of section 261.201 of the Family Code. We note, however, the requestor, who is not alleged to have committed the abuse, is the parent of one of the child victims named in the submitted report and may be a parent, managing conservator, or legal representative of the other child victims. Therefore, the city may not withhold the submitted report from this requestor on the basis of section 261.201(a). See id. § 261.201(k). We note, however, section 261.201(l) provides that before a parent can copy or inspect a record of a child under section 261.201(k), any personally identifiable information about a victim or witness under 18 years of age who is not the parent's child and the identity of the reporting party must be withheld. Id. § 261.201(l)(1), (3). In this instance, we are unable to determine whether the requestor is a parent, managing conservator, or legal representative of the other child victims. Accordingly, we will rule conditionally.

Thus, to the extent the requestor is not a parent, managing conservator, or legal representative of the other three children named in the report, the city must withhold their identities, which we have marked, under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 261.201(l)(1) of the Family Code. To the extent the requestor is a parent, managing conservator, or legal representative of the other three children, their identities may not be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 261.201(l)(1) of the Family Code. In either event, the city must withhold the identity of the reporting party, which we have marked, under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 261.201(l)(3) of the Family Code. The rest of the information in the submitted report must be released to this requestor pursuant to section 261.201(k) of the Family Code. ⁽¹⁾

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,

Kristi L. Wilkins

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

KLW/sdk

Ref: ID# 452204

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We note the information being released contains a social security number. Section 552.147(b) of the Government Code authorizes a governmental body to redact a living person's social security number from public release without the necessity of requesting a decision from this office under the Act. Gov't Code § 552.147(b).

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