September 5, 2012

Ms. LeAnn M. Quinn

City Secretary

City of Cedar Park

450 Cypress Creek Road

Cedar Park, Texas 78613

OR2012-14053

Dear Ms. Quinn:

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# 463890 (Ref. No. 12-622).

The Cedar Park Police Department (the "department") received a request for information concerning a specified accident. You state the department will withhold driver's license numbers under section 552.130 of the Government Code and license plate numbers pursuant to Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009). ⁽¹⁾ You claim portions of the submitted information are excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.130, and 552.136 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions 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. Section 552.101 encompasses section 550.065(b) of the Transportation Code, which states that, except as provided by subsection (c) or (e), accident reports are privileged and confidential. Transp. Code § 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 pieces of information specified by the statute. In this case, the requestor has not provided the department with two of the three required pieces of information. Accordingly, the department must withhold the accident report under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 550.065(b) of the Transportation Code.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code also encompasses the doctrine of common-law privacy, which protects information if it (1) contains highly intimate or embarrassing facts, the publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person, and (2) is not of legitimate concern to the public. Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668, 685 (Tex. 1976). To demonstrate the applicability of common-law privacy, both prongs of this test must be established. Id. at 681-82. This office has determined personal financial information not relating to a financial transaction between an individual and a governmental body is generally excepted from required public disclosure under common-law privacy. See Open Records Decision Nos. 600 (1992) (finding personal financial information to include designation of beneficiary of employee's retirement benefits and optional insurance coverage; choice of particular insurance carrier; direct deposit authorization; and forms allowing employee to allocate pretax compensation to group insurance, health care, or dependent care), 545 (1990) (deferred compensation information, participation in voluntary investment program, election of optional insurance coverage, mortgage payments, assets, bills, and credit history). Upon review, we find the insurance carrier information you have marked is highly intimate and embarrassing and of no legitimate public interest. Accordingly, the department must withhold the information you have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy.

Section 552.130 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure information relating to a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state or another state or country. Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(2). Although you state you will redact the marked vehicle identification numbers, we note neither section 552.130 nor Open Records Decision No. 684 authorizes a governmental body to withhold this information without requesting a decision from this office. Nonetheless, we find the department must withhold the vehicle identification numbers you have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code.

Section 552.136(b) of the Government Code provides, "[n]otwithstanding any other provision of [the Act], a credit card, debit card, charge card, or access device number that is collected, assembled, or maintained by or for a governmental body is confidential." Id. § 552.136(b); see id. § 552.136(a) (defining "access device"). This office has concluded insurance policy numbers constitute access device numbers for purposes of section 552.136. Accordingly, the department must withhold the insurance policy numbers you have marked under section 552.136 of the Government Code. ⁽²⁾

In summary, the department must withhold the accident report under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 550.065(b) of the Transportation Code. The department must withhold the insurance carrier information you have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy. The department must withhold the vehicle identification numbers you have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code, and the insurance policy numbers you have marked under section 552.136 of the Government Code. The remaining information must be released.

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,

Neal Falgoust

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

NF/ag

Ref: ID# 463890

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Section 552.130 of the Government Code permits a governmental body to withhold information subject to subsections 552.130(a)(1) and 552.130(a)(2) without the necessity of seeking a decision from this office. See Gov't Code § 552.130(c)-(e). Open Records Decision No. 684 serves as a previous determination allowing all governmental bodies to redact certain categories of information, including a Texas license plate number under section 552.130 of the Government Code, without requesting a decision from this office.

2. Section 552.136 of the Government Code permits a governmental body to withhold an access device number without the necessity of seeking a decision from this office. See id. § 5521.136(c)-(e).

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