July 26, 2012

Mr. Marcus W. Norris

City Attorney

City of Amarillo

P.O. Box 1971

Amarillo, Texas 79105-1971

OR2012-11638

Dear Mr. Norris:

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# 460735.

The City of Amarillo (the "city") received a request for specified surveillance video regarding the city's Public Health Department (the "department") during a specified time period, the e-mail addresses of "top administrative officials," and certain information regarding the department. You claim the requested 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.

You inform us part of the request is phrased in the form of a questionnaire. The Act does not require a governmental body to answer general questions, perform legal research, or create new information in response to a request for information. See Open Records Decision Nos. 563 at 8 (1990), 555 at 1-2 (1990). The Act does require the governmental body to make a good faith effort to relate a request to information that the governmental body holds or to which it has access. See Open Records Decision Nos. 563 at 8, 561 at 8-9 (1990), 555 at 1-2, 534 at 2-3 (1989). Accordingly, the city must make a good faith effort to relate questions from the questionnaire to information in the city's possession. To the extent any such information exists, we assume it has been released to the requestor. If such information has not been released, then it must be released at this time. See Gov't Code §§ 552.301(a), .302; see also Open Records Decision No. 664 (2000) (if governmental body concludes that no exceptions apply to requested information, it must release information as soon as possible).

Next, we note you have only submitted information pertaining to the specified surveillance video regarding the department during a specified time period. You state you have submitted a representative sample of information; however, no portion of the submitted representative sample pertains to the e-mail addresses of "top administrative officials." Thus, we find the submitted information is not representative of all the information sought in the request for information. Please be advised this ruling applies to only the types of information you have submitted for our review. Therefore, this ruling does not authorize the withholding of any other requested records to the extent those records contain substantially different types of information than that submitted to this office. See Gov't Code § 552.302 (where request for attorney general decision does not comply with requirements of section 552.301, information at issue is presumed public). To the extent any information responsive to the request for the e-mail addresses of "top administrative officials" existed on the date the city received the request for information, we assume the city has released it. If the city has not released any such information, it must do so at this time. See id. §§ 552.301-.302; see also Open Records Decision No. 664 (2000) (if governmental body concludes that no exceptions apply to the requested information, it must release information as soon as possible).

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 exception encompasses information other statutes make confidential. You claim section 552.101 in conjunction with section 418.182 of the Government Code, which was added to chapter 418 of the Government Code as part of the Texas Homeland Security Act. Section 418.182 provides in part:

(a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), information, including access codes and passwords, in the possession of a governmental entity that relates to the specifications, operating procedures, or location of a security system used to protect public or private property from an act of terrorism or related criminal activity is confidential.

(b) Financial information in the possession of a governmental entity that relates to the expenditure of funds by a governmental entity for a security system is public information that is not excepted from required disclosure under Chapter 552.

Id. § 418.182(a), (b). The fact information may generally be related to a security system does not make the information per se confidential under section 418.182. See Open Records Decision No. 649 at 3 (1996) (language of confidentiality provision controls scope of its protection). Furthermore, the mere recitation by a governmental body of a statute's key terms is not sufficient to demonstrate the applicability of a claimed provision. As with any confidentiality provision, a governmental body asserting section 418.182 must adequately explain how the responsive information falls within the scope of the statute. See Gov't Code § 552.301(e)(1)(A) (governmental body must explain how claimed exception to disclosure applies).

You explain the submitted information consists of video recordings generated by the security surveillance cameras at the department. You assert release of this information would reveal the number and location of surveillance cameras, their technical capabilities and vulnerabilities, and other characteristics of the department's security and surveillance systems. You state the release of such information "would enable criminals or terrorists to more effectively penetrate the security efforts at the [department] with no detection or delayed detection." Based on your representations and our review of the information at issue, we conclude the city has demonstrated the submitted information falls within the scope of section 418.182(a). Accordingly, the city must withhold the submitted information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 418.182(a) of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ See generally Tex. Dep't of Pub. Safety v. Abbott, 310 S.W.3d 670 (Tex. App.--Austin 2010, no pet.) (finding confidential under section 418.182 of the HSA video recording containing images recorded by security cameras in Texas Capitol hallway, because specifications of security system included cameras' capabilities and video recording demonstrated those capabilities through characteristics, quality, and clarity of images recorded).

You ask this office to issue a previous determination that would permit the city to withhold, under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 418.182 of the Government Code, security system camera video revealing the location of the system at a health department clinic or office without the necessity of requesting a decision from this office. See Gov't Code § 552.301(a) (allowing governmental body to withhold information subject to previous determination); Open Records Decision No. 673 (2001). We decline to issue such a decision at this time. Accordingly, 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,

Jennifer Luttrall

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JL/som

Ref: ID# 460735

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining arguments.

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