Office of the Attorney General
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Honorable Mike Driscoll
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Letter Opinion No. 90-035
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Dear Mr. Driscoll:
You ask certain questions regarding Texas Open Records Act, article 6252-17a, V.T.C.S. Your request was assigned ID# 8667.
You ask (1) whether the county auditor must furnish records of outstanding and cancelled warrant lists that require additional preparation to meet the requirements of the requestor when this requires extensive research and retrieval time by the county auditor's staff, and (2) whether the county auditor may charge the requestor the cost of preparation, research and retrieval time when the requested information is not readily available on existing computer lists. We note that your letter is not a request for an attorney general opinion under section 7 of the Open Records Act as you do not seek a determination as to whether information is excepted from public disclosure under section 3 of the act.
We believe the questions you ask are answered in Attorney General Opinion JM-672 (1987), copy enclosed. The Open Records Act does not require a governmental body to create new information, nor to prepare information in a form dictated by a requesting party. See also Open Records Decision No. 243 (1980).
If you have questions about specific costs you should direct them to the State Purchasing and General Services Commission. V.T.C.S. art. 6252-17a, s 9(b).
Very truly yours,
Sarah Woelk
Chief
Letter Opinion Section