September 7, 2012

Mr. Justin Gordon

Assistant General Counsel

Office of the Governor

P.O. Box 12428

Austin, Texas 78711

OR2012-14223

Dear Mr. Gordon:

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# 468434 (OOG ID# 193-12 DREW).

The Office of the Governor (the "OOG") received a request for information pertaining to a named former employee. You state the OOG has released some of the requested information, but redacted driver's license information pursuant to section 552.130(c) of the Government Code; personal information pursuant to section 552.024 of the Government Code; and e-mail addresses and W-4 forms under section 552.137 of the Government Code and section 6103(a) of title 26 of the United States Code pursuant to Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009). ⁽¹⁾ You claim some of the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.102 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. This section encompasses the doctrine of common-law privacy, which protects information that (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). Prior decisions of this office have found financial information relating only to an individual ordinarily satisfies the first requirement of the test for common-law privacy, but there is a legitimate public interest in the essential facts about a financial transaction between an individual and a governmental body. See Open Records Decision Nos. 600 (1992), 545 (1990), 373 (1983). For example, information related to an individual's mortgage payments, assets, bills, and credit history is generally protected by the common-law right to privacy. See Open Records Decision Nos. 545, 523 (1989); see also ORD 600 (personal financial information includes choice of particular insurance carrier). The submitted documents contain personal financial information, and the public does not have a legitimate interest in it. See Open Records Decision Nos. 620 (1993), 600. Upon review, we find the OOG must withhold the information you have marked under section 552.101 in conjunction with common-law privacy. ⁽²⁾

Section 552.102(a) of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information in a personnel file, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." Gov't Code § 552.102(a). The Texas Supreme Court has held section 552.102(a) excepts from disclosure the dates of birth of state employees in the payroll database of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Tex. Comptroller of Pub. Accounts v. Attorney Gen. of Tex., 354 S.W.3d 336 (Tex. 2010). We agree the OOG must withhold the information you have marked under section 552.102(a) of the Government Code.

To conclude, the OOG must withhold the information you have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy and under section 552.102 of the Government Code. The OOG must release the remaining information.

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,

James L. Coggeshall

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JLC/tch

Ref: ID# 468434

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Section 552.130 allows a governmental body to redact the information described in subsections 552.130(a)(1) and (a)(3), such as driver's license numbers, without the necessity of seeking a decision from the attorney general. Gov't Code § 552.130(c). If a governmental body redacts such information, it must notify the requestor in accordance with section 552.130(e). Id. § 552.130(d), (e). Section 552.024(c)(2) of the Government Code authorizes a governmental body to redact information protected by section 552.117(a)(1) of the Government Code without the necessity of requesting a decision under the Act if the current or former employee or official to whom the information pertains timely chose not to allow public access to the information. See id. § 552.024(c)(2). Open Records Decision No. 684 is a previous determination to all governmental bodies authorizing them to withhold specified categories of information, including an e-mail address of a member of the public under section 552.137 of the Government Code and a W-4 form under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 6103(a) of title 26 of the United States Code, without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision.

2. We note this office issued Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009), a previous determination to all governmental bodies authorizing them to withhold specified categories of information, including a direct deposit authorization form under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with the common-law right to privacy, without the necessity of requesting an attorney general opinion.

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