December 7, 2012

Ms. Amy L. Sims

Assistant City Attorney

City of Lubbock

P.O. Box 2000

Lubbock, Texas 79457

OR2012-19694

Dear Ms. Sims:

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# 473088.

The City of Lubbock (the "city") received a request for any correspondence to hotels within the city that were delinquent in a specified tax during a specified period of time and have been assessed a 15% penalty for late payment. You claim the submitted 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.

You argue section 18.03.006(b) of the city's Code of Ordinances prohibits the release of certain information obtained from a hotel investigation by the city. 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. We note a governmental body may not promulgate a rule that designates information as being confidential, so as to bring the information within the scope of section 552.101 of the Government Code, unless the governmental body has been given specific statutory authority to do so. See Open Records Decision Nos. 594 at 2-3 (1991) (city ordinance cannot operate to make information confidential when not excepted by Act), 263 (1981) (city ordinance may not conflict with Act); see also Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668, 677 (Tex. 1976) (agency rule may not make information confidential in circumvention of Act). You have not directed our attention to any law, nor are we aware of any, that authorizes the city to make information confidential for purposes of the Act. Consequently, we conclude the city may not withhold the submitted information under section 552.101 of the Government Code on the basis of section 18.03.006(b) of the city's Code of Ordinances. As you raise no other arguments against disclosure, 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,

Michelle R. Garza

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

MRG/eb

Ref: ID# 473088

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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