May 14, 2012

Ms. Molly Cost

Assistant General Counsel

Texas Department of Public Safety

P.O. Box 4087

Austin, Texas 78773-0001

OR2012-07109

Dear Ms. Cost:

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# 457627 (PIR# 12-1147).

The Texas Department of Public Safety (the "department") received a request for information pertaining to a specified incident. You state the department has released some of the responsive information. You claim other responsive information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.108(a)(1) 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 claiming section 552.108 must reasonably explain how and why the release of the requested information would interfere with law enforcement. See id. §§ 552.108(a)(1), .301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state that release of the information you have marked will interfere with a pending criminal investigation and prosecution. Based on this representation, we conclude that section 552.108(a)(1) is generally applicable in this instance. 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 that are present in active cases), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curium, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976). We note, however, that the information at issue includes a DIC-25 notice of suspension. The department provided copies of these forms to the arrestee. You have not explained how releasing this information, which has already been seen by the arrestee, would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. See Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). Accordingly, the DIC-25 form may not be withheld under section 552.108 and must be released. The department may withhold the remaining information you have marked under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government 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,

Tamara H. Holland

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

THH/ag

Ref: ID# 457627

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We note the requestor has a right of access to some information being released pursuant to section 552.023 of the Government Code. See Gov't Code § 552.023(a) ("[a] person or a person's authorized representative has a special right of access, beyond the right of the general public, to information held by a governmental body that relates to the person and that is protected from public disclosure by laws intended to protect that person's privacy interests"); Open Records Decision No. 481 at 4 (1987) (privacy theories not implicated when individuals request information concerning themselves). Section 552.130(c) of the Government Code authorizes a governmental body to redact information protected by section 552.130(a)(1) without the necessity of requesting a decision under the Act. See Gov't Code § 552.130(c). Therefore, if the department receives another request for the same information from a person who would not have a right of access to the present requestor's private information, section 552.130(c) authorizes the department to redact the requestor's client's driver's license information without requesting another ruling.

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