October 12, 2012

Ms. Ashley R. Allen

Administrative Law Section

Texas General Land Office

P.O. Box 12873

Austin, Texas 78711-2873

OR2012-16348

Dear Ms. Allen:

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# 468384.

The Texas General Land Office (the "GLO") received a request for any schedule or document that allocates the proceeds from a specified settlement agreement. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. You also state release of this information may implicate the proprietary interests of Shell Oil Company ("Shell"). Accordingly, you notified Shell of the request and of its right to submit arguments to this office as to why the submitted information should not be released. Gov't Code § 552.305(d); see also Open Records Decision No. 542 (1990) (determining statutory predecessor to section 552.305 permits governmental body to rely on interested third party to raise and explain applicability of exception to disclosure under the Act in certain circumstances). 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. Section 552.101 encompasses section 11.086(a) of the Natural Resources Code, which provides in part:

Information relating to the development, location, purchase price, or sale price of real property developed, purchased, or sold by or for the School Land Board, Veterans' Land Board, land office, or commissioner under authority granted by this code, including a contract provision related to the development, purchase, or sale of the property, is confidential and exempt from disclosure under [the Act], until all deeds for the property that are applicable to the transaction or series of related transactions are executed and until all substantive performance or executory requirements of applicable contracts have been satisfied. Information that is confidential and exempted from disclosure under this subsection includes an appraisal, completed report, evaluation, or investigation conducted for the purpose of locating or determining the purchase or sale price of the property, or any report prepared in anticipation of developing, purchasing, or selling real property.

Nat. Res. Code § 11.086(a). You state the submitted information relates to the development, location, purchase price, or sale price of real property developed, purchased, or sold by or for the School Land Board, the land office, or commissioner under authority granted by the Natural Resources Code. You inform us the information at issue is related to ongoing negotiations with other entities pertaining to the underpayment of royalties. Based on your representations and our review of the information at issue, we find the submitted information is confidential under section 11.086 of the Natural Resources Code and must be withheld pursuant to 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,

Ana Carolina Vieira

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

ACV/ag

Ref: ID# 468384

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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