November 20, 2012

Mr. R. Brooks Moore

Managing Counsel, Governance

Office of General Counsel

Texas A&M University System

301 Tarrow Street, 6^th Floor

College Station, Texas 77840-7896

OR2012-18748

Dear Mr. Brooks:

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# 471717 (TAMU # SO-12-096).

The Texas A&M University System (the "system") received a request for proposals submitted for a specified request for proposal. Although you take no position as to the public availability of the submitted information, you state release of this information may implicate the proprietary interests of a third party. Thus, pursuant to section 552.305 of the Government Code, you notified American Campus Communities ("ACC") of the request and of its right to submit arguments to this office as to why its information should not be released. Gov't Code § 552.305(d); see also Open Records Decision No. 542 (1990) (determining that 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 reviewed the submitted information.

Initially, we note you have only submitted one proposal. To the extent any other responsive proposals existed when the system received the request for information, we assume you have released them. If you have not released them, you must do so at this time. See Gov't Code §§ 552.301(a), .302; see also Open Records Decision No. 664 (2000) (if governmental body concludes no exceptions apply to requested information, it must release the information as soon as possible).

We note an interested third party is allowed ten business days after the date of its receipt of the governmental body's notice to submit its reasons, if any, as to why information relating to that party should not be released. See Gov't Code § 552.305(d)(2)(B). As of the date of this ruling, we have not received comments from ACC. Thus, we have no basis to conclude ACC has a protected proprietary interest in any of the submitted information. See id. § 552.110(a)-(b); Open Records Decision Nos. 661 at 5-6 (1999) (to prevent disclosure of commercial or financial information, party must show by specific factual evidence, not conclusory or generalized allegations, that release of requested information would cause that party substantial competitive harm), 552 at 5 (1990) (party must establish prima facie case that information is trade secret), 542 at 3. Accordingly, the system may not withhold any of the information at issue on the basis of any proprietary interest ACC may have in the information. As no exceptions to disclosure have been raised, the submitted 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,

Kristi L. Wilkins

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

KLW/ag

Ref: ID# 471717

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Mr. Bill Bayless

American Campus Communities

12700 Hill Country Boulevard, Suite T-200

Austin, Texas 78738

(w/o enclosures)

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