August 3, 2012

Ms. Loris Jones

Public Information Officer

Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners

333 Guadalupe, Suite 3-810

Austin, Texas 78701-3942

OR2012-12200

Dear Ms. Jones:

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# 461092.

The Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (the "board") received a request for information pertaining to a specified complaint and information pertaining to discipline of veterinarians during a specified time period. You state you have released some information to the requestor. You state you do not have information responsive to a portion of the request for information. ⁽¹⁾ You claim some of 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 exception encompasses information that other statutes make confidential. You claim the information at issue is confidential under section 801.207 of the Occupations Code. Section 801.207(b) provides that "[a]n investigation record of the board, including a record relating to a complaint that is found to be groundless, is confidential." Occ. Code § 801.207(b). You inform us that under the board's procedures, an investigation file is opened upon receipt of a complaint against a veterinarian, and any matters related to that complaint and subsequent investigation become part of the investigation record. You indicate the information at issue is related to a complaint filed with the board and the board's investigation of the complaint. Accordingly, based on your representation and our review, we conclude the information at issue is confidential under section 801.207(b) of the Occupations Code and must be withheld from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code.

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,

Cynthia G. Tynan

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

CGT/akg

Ref: ID# 461092

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. The Act does not require a governmental body that receives a request for information to create information that did not exist when the request was received. See Econ. Opportunities Dev. Corp. v. Bustamante, 562 S.W.2d 266 (Tex. Civ. App.--San Antonio 1978, writ dism'd); Open Records Decision Nos. 605 at 2 (1992), 563 at 8 (1990), 555 at 1-2 (1990), 452 at 3 (1986), 362 at 2 (1983).

POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US
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