August 8, 2012

Ms. Michelle M. Kretz

Assistant City Attorney

City of Fort Worth

1000 Throckmorton Street, Third Floor

Fort Worth, Texas 76102

OR2012-12444

Dear Ms. Kretz:

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# 465768 (W018331).

The Fort Worth Police Department (the "department") received a request for eleven categories of information pertaining to an accident involving a named individual at a specified location on a specified date. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

You seek to withhold the submitted CR-3 accident report forms completed pursuant to chapter 550 of the Transportation Code. 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 made confidential by other statutes, such as section 550.065 of the Transportation Code. See Transp. Code § 550.064 (officer's accident report). Section 550.065(b) provides, except as provided by subsection (c) or subsection (e), accident reports are privileged and confidential. Id. § 550.065(b). Section 550.065(c)(4) provides for the release of accident reports to a person who provides two of the following three pieces of information: (1) the date of the accident; (2) the name of any person involved in the accident; and (3) the specific location of the accident. Id. § 550.065(c)(4). Under this provision, the Texas Department of Transportation or another governmental entity is required to release a copy of an accident report to a person who provides the agency with two or more of the items of information specified by the statute. Id. Although you seek to withhold the CR-3 reports under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 550.065(b), in this instance, the requestor has provided the department with the requisite pieces of information. Additionally, although you also seek to withhold this information under section 552.108 of the Government Code, we note information that is specifically made public by statute may not be withheld from the public under any of the general exceptions to public disclosure under the Act. See Open Records Decision Nos. 623 at 3 (1994) (exceptions in Act inapplicable to information statutes expressly make public), 613 at 4 (1993) (exceptions in Act cannot impinge on statutory right of access to information), 451 at 3 (1986) (specific statutory right of access provisions overcome general exception to disclosure under Act). Accordingly, the department must release the submitted CR-3 accident reports pursuant to section 550.065(c)(4) of the Transportation Code.

You have redacted information from the submitted CR-3 accident reports under section 552.130. Section 552.130 of the Government Code provides that information relating to a motor vehicle operator's license, driver's license, 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). On September 1, 2011, the Texas legislature amended section 552.130 to allow a governmental body to redact the information described in subsections 552.130(a)(1) and (a)(3), such as a driver's license number, without the necessity of seeking a decision from this office. See id. § 552.130(c). Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009) is a previous determination to all governmental bodies authorizing them to withhold several categories of information, including Texas license plate numbers, under section 552.130(a)(2), without the necessity of requesting a decision from this office. However, we note vehicle identification numbers are not subject to Open Records Decision No. 684 and, therefore, may not be redacted without requesting an attorney general decision. As noted above, a statutory right of access prevails over the general exceptions under the Act. See Open Records Decision Nos. 623 at 3, 613 at 4, 451 at 3. However, because section 552.130 has its own access provisions, we conclude section 552.130 is not a general exception under the Act. Thus, we must address the conflict between the access provided under section 550.065 of the Transportation Code and the confidentiality provided under section 552.130. Where information falls within both a general and a specific provision of law, the specific provision prevails over the general. See Horizon/CMS Healthcare Corp. v. Auld, 34 S.W.3d 887, 901 (Tex. 2000) ("more specific statute controls over the more general"); Cuellar v. State, 521 S.W.2d 277 (Tex. Crim. App. 1975) (under well-established rule of statutory construction, specific statutory provisions prevail over general ones); Open Records Decision Nos. 598 (1991), 583 (1990), 451. In this instance, section 550.065 specifically provides access only to accident reports of the type at issue, while section 552.130 generally excepts motor vehicle record information maintained in any context. Thus, we conclude the access to accident reports provided under section 550.065 is more specific than the general confidentiality provided under section 552.130. Accordingly, the department may not redact any portion of the submitted CR-3 accident reports under section 552.130, but must instead release them in their entirety pursuant to section 550.065(c)(4).

You seek to withhold the remaining information under section 552.108 of the Government Code. Section 552.108(a)(1) excepts from disclosure "[i]nformation held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime [if] release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime[.]" Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). A governmental body claiming section 552.108 must reasonably explain how and why the release of the requested information would interfere with law enforcement. See id. §§ 552.108(a)(1), .301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state, and provide an affidavit from the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office stating, the remaining information relates to a criminal case that is pending prosecution. Based upon these representations and our review, we conclude section 552.108(a)(1) is generally applicable in this instance. See Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975) (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases)., writ ref'd n.r.e. per curium, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976).

We note, however, the information at issue includes a DIC-24 statutory warning and DIC-25 notice of suspension. The department provided copies of these forms to the arrestee. You have not explained how releasing this information, which has already been seen by the arrestee, would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. See Gov't Code § 5521.108(a)(1). Accordingly, the DIC-24 and DIC-25 forms may not be withheld under section 552.108.

Additionally, section 552.108 does not except from disclosure "basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime." Id. § 552.108(c). Section 552.108(c) refers to the basic "front-page" information held to be public in Houston Chronicle. See 531 S.W.2d at 186-187; see also Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information considered to be basic information). Accordingly, with the exception of the DIC-24 and DIC-25 forms and the basic information, the department may withhold the remaining submitted information under section 552.108(a)(1). ⁽¹⁾

You have marked a driver's license number for redaction in the DIC-24 and DIC-25 forms. As noted above, 552.130(c) of the Government Code authorizes governmental bodies to redact driver's license numbers described in section 552.130(a)(1) of the Government Code, without the necessity of seeking a decision from this office. Gov't Code § 552.130(c). We agree the department must withhold the driver's license number in the DIC-24 and DIC-25 forms under section 552.130.

In summary, the department must release the submitted CR-3 accident reports in their entirety pursuant to section 550.065(c)(4) of the Transportation Code. Except for the driver's license number, which the department must withhold under section 552.130 of the Government Code, the DIC-24 and DIC-25 forms must be released. Except for basic information, the department may withhold the remaining submitted information under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. ⁽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,

Ana Carolina Vieira

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

ACV/ag

Ref: ID# 465768

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. As our ruling for this information is dispositive, we need not address your remaining argument against disclosure of portions of this information.

2. We note basic information includes an arrested person's social security number. You state the department will redact the arrestee's social security number pursuant to section 552.147(b) of the Government Code, which authorizes a governmental body to redact a living person's social security number from public release without the necessity of requesting a decision from this office under the Act. Gov't Code § 552.147(b).

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