June 22, 2012

Mr. John Ohnemiller

First Assistant City Attorney

City of Midland

300 North Loraine, Room 320

Midland, Texas 79702-1152

OR2012-09658

Dear Mr. Ohnemiller:

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# 456875.

The City of Midland (the "city") received a request for a specified police report. You claim that 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 58.007 of the Family Code, which makes confidential juvenile law enforcement records relating to conduct that occurred on or after September 1, 1997. The relevant language of section 58.007(c) reads as follows:

(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), law enforcement records and files concerning a child and information stored, by electronic means or otherwise, concerning the child from which a record or file could be generated may not be disclosed to the public and shall be:

(1) if maintained on paper or microfilm, kept separate from adult files and records;

(2) if maintained electronically in the same computer system as records or files relating to adults, be accessible under controls that are separate and distinct from controls to access electronic data concerning adults; and

(3) maintained on a local basis only and not sent to a central state or federal depository, except as provided by Subchapters B, D, and E.

Fam. Code § 58.007(c). For purposes of section 58.007(c), "child" means a person who is ten years of age or older and under seventeen years of age. See id. § 51.02(2). You assert the submitted information is subject to section 58.007(c). Upon review, we find some of the information at issue, which we have marked, pertains to juvenile delinquent conduct for purposes of section 58.007(c) of the Family Code. See id § 51.03 (defining "delinquent conduct" for purposes of Fam. Code § 58.007). It does not appear any of the exceptions in section 58.007 apply. Accordingly, the city must withhold the information we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 58.007(c) of the Family Code. However, we find the remaining information pertains to offenders who were seventeen years of age or older at the time of the incidents at issue. Thus, we find you have not shown how any of the remaining information pertains to juvenile conduct for purposes of section 58.007(c). We therefore conclude the city may not withhold any portion of the remaining information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 58.007(c) of the Family Code.

We note portions of the remaining information are subject to section 552.130 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ Section 552.130 provides information relating to a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license or permit or 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)(1)-(2). We find the city must withhold the information we have marked under section 552.130.

In summary, the city must withhold the information we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 58.007(c) of the Family Code. The city must withhold the information we have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code. As you raise no further exceptions to disclosure, the city must release the remaining information.

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,

Sean Opperman

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

SO/som

Ref: ID# 456875

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. The Office of the Attorney General will raise a mandatory exception on behalf of a governmental body, but ordinarily will not raise other exceptions. See Open Records Decision Nos. 481 (1987), 480 (1987), 470 (1987).

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