December 19, 2012

Ms. Jordan Hale

Assistant Attorney General

Public Information Coordinator

General Counsel Division

Office of the Attorney General

P.O. Box 12548

Austin, Texas 78711-2548

OR2012-20524

Dear Ms. Hale:

You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under chapter552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 474749 (PIR Nos. 12-34573 and 12-34696).

The Office of the Attorney General (the "OAG") received requests for information pertaining to IFB No. 350556 for Written Translation Services. The OAG released some information and takes no position as to disclosure of the remaining information. The OAG notified the following companies of the requests and of their right to submit arguments to this office as to why their information should not be released because release of the information may implicate their proprietary interests: 1) ALTA Language Services, 2) Bruxelles, 3) Human Touch Translations, 4) LM Language Services, 5) Professional Translators and Transcribers, 6) Rugamas Translations, 7) Sententia Vera, 8) Trustforte Language Services, and 9) Universe Technical Translation. Gov't Code § 552.305(d) (permitting third party with proprietary interest to submit to attorney general reasons why requested information should not be released).

An interested third party is allowed ten business days after the date of its receipt of the governmental body's notice under section 552.305(d) to submit its reasons, if any, as to why information relating to that party should be withheld from public disclosure. See id. § 552.305(d)(2)(B). As of the date of this letter, the companies have not submitted arguments to this office explaining why their information should not be released. We thus have no basis to conclude release of the information will harm the companies' proprietary interests. See id. § 552.110; 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 (1990). Accordingly, the OAG may not withhold the information based on any proprietary interests the companies may have. The OAG must release the information.

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,

Yen-Ha Le

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

YHL/sdk

Ref: ID# 474749

Enc: Submitted documents

c: 2 Requestors

(w/o enclosures)