Source: https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/openrecords/50abbott/orl/2002/htm/or200206864.htm
Timestamp: 2016-12-03 05:09:03
Document Index: 24509501

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 552', '§ 550', '§ 550', '§ 411', '§ 1703', '§ 552', '§ 552', '§ 405', '§ 552']

Abbott Open Records Letter Ruling OR2002-6864 Office of the ATTORNEY GENERAL
OR2002-6864
chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 173017.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Department (the "department") received two requests for
internal affairs documents regarding deputies or detention officers, including two named
officers, engaging in sexual activity while on duty. You state that the department has no
information responsive to the request pertaining to one of the named individuals.(1) You claim that a portion of the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.102 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.
Initially, we note that the submitted information is subject to section 552.022 of the
Gov't Code § 552.022(a)(1). In this instance, the submitted information pertains to
completed investigations. Thus, this information must be released under section
552.022(a)(1) unless it is expressly confidential under other law or excepted from disclosure
under section 552.108.(2) You argue that sections 552.101 and 552.102 except a portion of the submitted information from public disclosure. As sections 552.101 and 552.102 are considered confidentiality provisions for the purpose of section 552.022, we will consider
the application of those sections.
section encompasses information protected by other statutes. Included among the documents
you seek to withhold is an accident report form that appears to have been completed pursuant
to chapter 550 of the Transportation Code. See Transp. Code § 550.064 (officer's accident
report). Section 550.065(b) of the Transportation Code states that except as provided by
subsection (c), accident reports are privileged and confidential. Section 550.065(c)(4)
provides for the release of accident reports to a person who provides two of the following
three pieces of information: (1) date of the accident; (2) name of any person involved
in the accident; and (3) specific location of the accident. Transp. Code § 550.065(c)(4). Under this provision, the Department of Public Safety or another governmental entity is
required to release a copy of an accident report to a person who provides the agency with two
or more pieces of information specified by the statute. Id. In the situation at hand, the
requestor has not provided the department with two of the three pieces of information. Thus,
you must withhold the accident report under section 552.101 in conjunction with
section 550.065(b) of the Transportation Code.
Department of Public Safety ("DPS") maintains, except that DPS may disseminate this
Code § 411.083.
subchapter F. A portion of the information submitted for our review is CHRI generated by
TCIC and NCIC. Accordingly, the information that we have marked is excepted from
required public disclosure by section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with
Government Code chapter 411, subchapter F.
Section 1703.306 of the Occupations Code provides as follows:
(a) A polygraph examiner, trainee, or employee of a polygraph examiner, or
a person for whom a polygraph examination is conducted or an employee of
the person, may not disclose information acquired from a polygraph
examination to another person other than:
(3) a member, or the member's agent, of a governmental agency that
licenses a polygraph examiner or supervises or controls a polygraph
Occ. Code § 1703.306. We find that certain information in the submitted records was
obtained through polygraph examinations. It does not appear that any of the exceptions in
section 1703.306 apply in this case. See Open Records Decision 565 (1990)(construing
predecessor statute). Accordingly, the information we have marked is confidential pursuant
to section 1703.306 of the Occupations Code and is therefore excepted from disclosure under
The submitted materials also include fingerprint information that is subject to
sections 559.001, 559.002, and 559.003 of the Government Code. They provide as follows:
Sec. 559.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Biometric identifier" means a retina or iris scan, fingerprint,
voiceprint, or record of hand or face geometry.
(2) "Governmental body" has the meaning assigned by
Section 552.003 [of the Government Code], except that the term
includes each entity within or created by the judicial branch of state
Sec. 559.002. DISCLOSURE OF BIOMETRIC IDENTIFIER. A
governmental body that possesses a biometric identifier of an individual:
(1) may not sell, lease, or otherwise disclose the biometric identifier
to another person unless:
(B) the disclosure is required or permitted by a federal statute
or by a state statute other than Chapter 552 [of the Government Code]; or
(C) the disclosure is made by or to a law enforcement agency
for a law enforcement purpose; and
(2) shall store, transmit, and protect from disclosure the biometric
identifier using reasonable care and in a manner that is the same as or
more protective than the manner in which the governmental body
stores, transmits, and protects its other confidential information.
Sec. 559.003. APPLICATION OF CHAPTER 552. A biometric identifier in the possession of a governmental body is exempt from disclosure under Chapter 552.
It does not appear to this office that section 559.002 permits the disclosure of the submitted
fingerprint information. Therefore, the department must withhold the fingerprints under
section 552.101 in conjunction with section 559.003 of the Government Code.
Section 552.102 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information in a
personnel file, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy." Gov't Code § 552.102(a). In Hubert v. Harte-Hanks Texas Newspapers,
652 S.W.2d 546 (Tex. App.--Austin 1983, writ ref'd n.r.e.), the court ruled that the test to
be applied to information claimed to be protected under section 552.102 is the same as the
test formulated by the Texas Supreme Court in Industrial Foundation for information
claimed to be protected under the doctrine of common-law privacy as incorporated by section
552.101 of the Public Information Act (the "Act"). See Industrial Found. v. Texas Indus.
Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668, 683-85 (Tex. 1976), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 931 (1977). Information must be withheld from the public when (1) it is highly intimate or embarrassing
Generally, the work behavior of a public employee and the conditions for his or her
continued employment are matters of legitimate public interest not protected by the common-law right of privacy. Open Records Decision No. 438 (1986). Similarly, information about
a public employee's qualifications, disciplinary action and background is not protected by
common-law privacy. Open Records Decision No. 444 (1986) (public has obvious interest
in having access to information concerning the qualifications and performances of
governmental employees, particularly employees who hold positions as sensitive as those
held by members of a sheriff's department); see also Open Records Decision No. 562 at 9,
n.2 (1990) (public has interest in preserving the credibility and effectiveness of the police
force). Further, a governmental entity is not prevented from acquiring information about an
employee's personal affairs when the information is gathered by the governmental agency in
pursuit of a compelling governmental objective. Id. at 8-9. However, where an individual's
of Justice v. Reporters Comm. for Freedom of the Press, 489 U.S. 749 (1989). Additionally,
in Open Records Decision No. 339 (1982), we concluded that a sexual assault victim has a
common-law privacy interest which prevents disclosure of information that would identify
the victim. See also Morales v. Ellen, 840 S.W.2d 519 (Tex. App.--El Paso 1992, writ denied) (identity of witnesses to and victims of sexual harassment was highly intimate or embarrassing information and public did not have a legitimate interest in such information). Accordingly, we have marked the information that the department must withhold pursuant
to common-law privacy in conjunction with section 552.101 of the Government Code. See
Open Records Decision Nos. 393 (1983), 339 (1982). Section 552.117(2) excepts from public disclosure a peace officer's home address, home
officer has family members regardless of whether the peace officer made an election under
section 552.024 of the Government Code. Section 552.117(2) applies to peace officers as
defined by article 2.12 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, we note that section
552.117(2) only protects a peace officer's 552.117 information in the context of his role as
a "peace officer" and not as a "suspect," "complainant," or "victim" in a criminal
investigation. Thus, we have marked the information in the submitted documents that must
be withheld under section 552.117(2).
However, some of the peace officers whose personal information is at issue are no longer
employed by the department. Furthermore, we are uncertain whether these individuals are
still peace officers. If an individual remains a licensed peace officer as defined by article
2.12 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, then his information must not be released by the
department pursuant to section 552.117(2) of the Government Code. However, if the former
peace officer is no longer a licensed peace officer, section 552.117(1) excepts from
member information of current or former officials or employees of a governmental body who
request that this information be kept confidential under section 552.024 of the Government
Code. See Gov't Code § 552.117(1). Information that is responsive to a request may not be
withheld from disclosure under section 552.117(1) if the employee did not request
confidentiality in accordance with section 552.024 or if the request for confidentiality under
section 552.024 was not made until after the request for information at issue was received
by the governmental body. Whether a particular piece of information is public must be
(1989). Accordingly, we conclude that the department must withhold the marked
information regarding a former peace officer or an employee pursuant to section 552.117(1),
if the employee or former officer made a request for confidentiality under section 552.024
of the Government Code prior to the date on which the present request was received by the
For an officer to whom section 552.117 does not apply, home addresses and telephone
numbers, social security numbers, and family member information may be excepted from
disclosure under section 552.1175 of the Government Code. Section 552.1175 states in
(1) peace officers as defined by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal
(b) Information that relates to the home address, home telephone number, or
social security number of an individual to whom this section applies, or that
reveals whether the individual has family members is confidential and may
not be disclosed to the public under this chapter if the individual to whom the
information relates:
(2) notifies the governmental body of the individual's choice on a
form provided by the governmental body, accompanied by evidence
of the individual's status.
We have marked the information that is subject to section 552.1175. However, you do not
inform this office, nor does any of the submitted information indicate, whether any peace
officer has elected confidentiality for information about himself in accordance with the
above-cited subsection 552.1175(b)(1) and (2). If such an election is made, the information
we have marked must be redacted in accordance with section 552.1175. If no such election
is made, the department may not withhold this information under section 552.1175.
Additionally, a social security number may nevertheless be excepted from required public
disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with the 1990
amendments to the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2)(C)(viii)(I), if it was
on or after October 1, 1990. See Open Records Decision No. 622 (1994). It is not apparent
to us that any social security number contained in the information at issue was obtained or
is maintained by the department pursuant to any provision of law enacted on or after
October 1, 1990, that authorizes the department to obtain or maintain a social security
number. Therefore, we have no basis for concluding that any social security number in the
submitted information was obtained or is maintained pursuant to such a statute and is,
therefore, confidential under section 405(c)(2)(C)(vii)(I). We caution the department,
release of confidential information. Prior to releasing any social security number, the
department should ensure that this number was not obtained or is not maintained by the
department pursuant to any provision of law enacted on or after October 1, 1990.
Section 552.119 of the Government Code excepts from public disclosure a photograph of a
peace officer(3) that, if released, would endanger the life or physical safety of the officer unless one of three exceptions applies. The three exceptions are: (1) the officer is under indictment or charged with an offense by information; (2) the officer is a party in a fire or police civil service hearing or a case in arbitration; or (3) the photograph is introduced as evidence in a
judicial proceeding. This section also provides that a photograph exempt from disclosure
under this section may be made public only if the peace officer gives written consent to the
disclosure. Open Records Decision No. 502 (1988). The submitted copies of photographs
depict a former employee of the department. You have not informed us that the former
employee is no longer a peace officer, or that the former employee has executed any written
consent to disclosure. Thus, to the extent that none of the exceptions in section 552.119
apply, the department must withhold the photographs depicting a peace officer.
The submitted information also includes an account number. Section 552.136 of the
Government Code states that "[n]otwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a credit
card, debit card, charge card, or access device number that is collected, assembled, or maintained by or for a governmental body is confidential." Gov't Code § 552.136. The
department must, therefore, withhold the marked account number under section 552.136.
Finally, we note that section 552.130 of the Government Code excepts from public disclosure
information relating to a driver's license or motor vehicle title or registration issued by an
agency of this state. Thus, we have marked the information in the submitted documents that
the department must withhold pursuant to section 552.130.
To summarize: (1) the accident report, fingerprints, CHRI, and the results of polygraph
examinations must be withheld under section 552.101; (2) we have marked the information
that must be withheld under common-law privacy; (3) we have marked the information that
must be withheld under section 552.117(2) for individuals who are licensed peace officers;
(4) if the individual is an employee or a former employee who is no longer a licensed peace
officer, and the employee made a timely request for confidentiality under section 552.024,
the department must withhold the marked information pursuant to section 552.117(1) of the
Government Code; (5) for an officer to whom section 552.117 does not apply but who made
a request for confidentiality under section 552.1175, the department must withhold the
marked information pursuant to section 552.1175 of the Government Code; (6) social
security numbers may be confidential under federal law; (7) to the extent that none of the
exceptions in section 552.119 apply, the department must withhold the photographs
depicting a peace officer; (8) the marked account number must be withheld under section
552.136; and (9) we have marked the information that must be withheld under section
552.130. The remaining submitted information must be released to the requestor.
Ref:	ID# 173017
c:	Mr. Gerald W. Cichon
747 East San Antonio #103
1. Chapter 552 of the Government Code does not require a governmental body to release information that did not exist when a request for information was received or to prepare new information. See Economic Opportunities Dev. Corp. v. Bustamante, 562 S.W.2d 266, 267-68 (Tex. Civ. App. - San Antonio 1978, writ dism'd); Open Records Decision Nos. 605 at 2 (1992), 452 at 3 (1986), 362 at 2 (1983).
2. As you do not raise section 552.108 with respect to the information at issue here, we do not address the applicability of this exception.