December 5, 2012

Mr. Joe Torres, III

City Attorney

City of Alice

216 North Texas Boulevard, Suite 2

Alice, Texas 78332

OR2012-19585

Dear Mr. Torres:

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# 473038.

The City of Alice (the "city"), which you represent, received a request for all citations of minors written in response to a specified incident. You claim the requested information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. 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. This exception encompasses information other statutes make confidential, such as section 261.201 of the Family Code, which provides as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Section 261.203, the following information is confidential, is not subject to public release under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may be disclosed only for purposes consistent with this code and applicable federal or state law or under rules adopted by an investigating agency:

(1) a report of alleged or suspected abuse or neglect made under this chapter and the identity of the person making the report; and

(2) except as otherwise provided in this section, the files, reports, records, communications, audiotapes, videotapes, and working papers used or developed in an investigation under this chapter or in providing services as a result of an investigation.

Id. § 261.201(a). You seek to withhold the submitted information under section 261.201(a) of the Family Code. Upon review, however, we find you have failed to demonstrate how any of the submitted information pertains to a report made or an investigation conducted under chapter 261 of the Family Code. See id. § 261.001(1), (4) (defining "abuse" and "neglect" for purposes of Family Code ch. 261). Therefore, we find none of the submitted information is confidential pursuant to section 261.201 of the Family Code. Accordingly, the city may not withhold any of the submitted information under section 552.101 of the Government Code on that basis.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code also encompasses section 58.007 of the Family Code. Section 58.007 reads in relevant part:

(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), law enforcement records and files concerning a child and information stored, by electronic means or otherwise, concerning the child from which a record or file could be generated may not be disclosed to the public and shall be:

(1) if maintained on paper or microfilm, kept separate from adult files and records;

(2) if maintained electronically in the same computer system as records or files relating to adults, be accessible under controls that are separate and distinct from controls to access electronic data concerning adults; and

(3) maintained on a local basis only and not sent to a central state or federal depository, except as provided by Subchapters B, D, and E.

Fam. Code § 58.007(c). Under section 58.007(c), juvenile law enforcement records relating to conduct that occurred on or after September 1, 1997 are confidential. See id. § 51.03(a), (b) (defining "delinquent conduct" and "conduct indicating a need for supervision"). For purposes of section 58.007(c), a "child" is a person who is ten years of age or older and under seventeen years of age at the time of the reported conduct. See id. § 51.02(2). Some of the submitted information, which we marked, involves juvenile delinquent conduct that occurred after September 1, 1997. You do not indicate, nor does it appear, any of the exceptions in section 58.007 apply to this information. Thus, the city must withhold the information we marked under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 58.007. However, the remaining information does not identify a juvenile suspect or offender for purposes of section 58.007(c). Therefore, the remaining information may not be withheld under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 58.007(c).

Section 552.130 of the Government Code provides information relating to a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license issued by a Texas agency, or an agency of another state or country, is excepted from public release. ⁽¹⁾ Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(1). Upon review, we find the city must withhold the driver's license information we have marked in the remaining information under section 552.130 of the Government Code.

In summary, the city must withhold the information we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 58.007 of the Family Code. The city must withhold the driver's license information we have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code. The remaining information must be released. ⁽²⁾

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,

Jonathan Miles

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JM/bhf

Ref: ID# 473038

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. The Office of the Attorney General will raise a mandatory exception on behalf of a governmental body, but ordinarily will not raise other exceptions. See Open Records Decision Nos. 481 (1987), 480 (1987), 470 (1987).

2. We note the remaining information contains social security numbers. 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).

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