July 5, 2012

Ms. Lillian Guillen Graham

Assistant City Attorney

City of Mesquite

P.O. Box 850137

Mesquite, Texas 75185-0137

OR2012-10342

Dear Ms. Graham:

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# 462825.

The Mesquite Police Department (the "department") received a request for three specified reports. You claim portions of the submitted information are excepted from disclosure under sections 552.1175 and 552.130 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ We have considered the claimed exceptions and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.1175 of the Government Code protects the home address, home telephone number, emergency contact information, social security number, and family member information of certain individuals, when that information is held by a governmental body in a non-employment capacity and the individual elects to keep the information confidential. See Gov't Code § 552.1175. Section 552.1175 applies, in part, to "peace officers as defined by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure." Id. § 552.1175(a)(1). We find the information you have marked is subject to section 552.1175. If the peace officer at issue elects to restrict access to the information pertaining to him in accordance with section 552.1175(b), the department must withhold the marked information under section 552.1175 of the Government Code.

Section 552.130 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure information that relates to a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license, title, or registration issued by an agency of this state or another state or country. Id. § 552.130(a)(1)-(2). Therefore, the department must withhold the information you have marked under section 552.130.

In summary, the department must withhold the information you have marked under sections 552.1175 and 552.130 of the Government Code. The remaining information must be released to the requestor. ⁽²⁾

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/som

Ref: ID# 462825

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Although you raise section 552.117 of the Government Code, we note section 552.1175 is the proper exception to raise for peace officers employed by other governmental bodies.

2. We note the requestor has a special right of access to some of the information being released. See Gov't Code § 552.023(a) (person or person's authorized representative has special right of access, beyond right of general public, to information held by governmental body that relates to person and is protected from public disclosure by laws intended to protect person's privacy interests); Open Records Decision No. 481 at 4 (1987) (privacy theories not implicated when individuals request information concerning themselves). Therefore, if the department receives another request for this particular information from a different requestor, then the department must again seek a ruling from this office.

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