July 3, 2012

Ms. Tiffany N. Evans

Assistant City Attorney

City of Houston

P.O. Box 368

Houston, Texas 77001-0368

OR2012-10242

Dear Ms. Evans:

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# 458979 (GC No. 19604).

The City of Houston (the "city") received a request for disciplinary documents concerning two specified incidents. You state some information will be released. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.103 of the Government Code. We have considered the claimed exception and reviewed the submitted information.

We note the requested information is part of a completed investigation. Section 552.022(a)(1) provides for the required public disclosure of "a completed report, audit, evaluation, or investigation made of, for, or by a governmental body," unless it is excepted by section 552.108 of the Government Code or "made confidential under [the Act] or other law[.]" Gov't Code § 552.022(a)(1). Although you raise section 552.103 of the Government Code for this information, this is a discretionary exception to disclosure that may be waived and does not make information confidential under the Act. See id. § 552.007; Dallas Area Rapid Transit v. Dallas Morning News, 4 S.W.3d 469, 475-76 (Tex. App.--Dallas 1999, no pet.) (governmental body may waive section 552.103); Open Records Decision Nos. 665 at 2 n.5 (2000) (discretionary exceptions generally), 663 at 5 (1999) (waiver of discretionary exceptions), 473 (1987) (section 552.103 may be waived). As such, section 552.103 does not make information confidential for the purposes of section 552.022(a), and the city may not withhold the submitted information on that basis. As you raise no additional exceptions to disclosure, the submitted information must be released 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,

Misty Haberer Barham

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

MHB/eb

Ref: ID# 458979

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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