September 21, 2012

Mr. Gregory A. Alicie

Open Records Specialist

Baytown Police Department

3200 North Main Street

Baytown, Texas 77521

OR2012-15049

Dear Mr. Alicie:

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# 466125.

The Baytown Police Department (the "department") received a request for information related to a traffic accident. You indicate the department will redact social security numbers pursuant to section 552.147(b) of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ You claim some of the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.130 and 552.136 of the Government Code. ⁽²⁾ We have considered your claims 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." ⁽³⁾ Gov't Code § 552.101. This exception encompasses 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. See 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.

Common-law privacy encompasses certain types of personal financial information. This office has determined financial information related only to an individual ordinarily satisfies the first element of the common-law privacy test, but the public has a legitimate interest in the essential facts about a financial transaction between an individual and a governmental body. See Open Records Decision Nos. 545 at 4 (1990) (attorney general has found kinds of financial information not excepted from public disclosure by common-law privacy to generally be those regarding receipt of governmental funds or debts owed to governmental entities), 523 at 4 (1989) (noting distinction under common-law privacy between confidential background financial information furnished to public body about individual and basic facts regarding particular financial transaction between individual and public body), 373 at 4 (1983) (determination of whether public's interest in obtaining personal financial information is sufficient to justify its disclosure must be made on case-by-case basis). We have marked information that is highly intimate or embarrassing and a matter of no legitimate public interest. The marked information must be withheld 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 related to a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license or permit or a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state or another state or country. See Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(1)-(2). We agree the department must withhold the driver's license and motor vehicle information you have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code.

Section 552.136 of the Government Code states that "[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 determined an insurance policy number is an access device number for purposes of this exception. We agree the department must withhold the insurance policy number you have marked under section 552.136 of the Government Code.

In summary, the department must withhold (1) the information we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy; (2) the marked driver's license and motor vehicle information under section 552.130 of the Government Code; and (3) the marked insurance policy number under section 552.136 of the Government Code. The rest of the submitted information must be released. ⁽⁴⁾

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,

Cindy Nettles

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

CN/eb

Ref: ID# 466125

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Section 552.147(b) of the Government Code 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).

2. Although you do not specifically raise section 552.136 of the Government Code, you have marked information for which you appear to claim this exception. Accordingly, we understand you to raise this exception.

3. This office will raise section 552.101 on behalf of a governmental body, as this section is a mandatory exception to disclosure. See Gov't Code §§ 552.007, .352; Open Records Decision No. 674 at 3 n.4 (2001) (mandatory exceptions).

4. Because this requestor has a special right of access to some of the information being released, if the department receives another request for this same information from a different requestor, the department must again seek a ruling from this office. See Gov't Code § 552.023.

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