TITLE attorney-general

Open Records Request

ORQ-55.ID#139312.

No requestor. Pursuant to section 552.011 of the Texas Government Code, in order to maintain uniformity in the application, operation and interpretation of the Public Information Act, this office will prepare and publish a formal decision on the following issue.

Re: If a governmental body believes that requested information comes within an exception to the Act, and if the governmental body believes that the information should be withheld from the requestor, then section 552.301 of the Government Code requires the governmental body to seek a ruling from the attorney general with respect to the responsive information unless there is a previous determination. In other words, a previous determination allows a governmental body to withhold responsive information from a requestor without seeking a ruling from the attorney general.

Which attorney general decisions are "previous determinations" and which are not? When can a court decision function as a previous determination? When does a previous determination expire or become invalid? To which documents does a previous determination apply? To which governmental bodies does a previous determination apply? What is the result if a governmental body does not seek an attorney general ruling because it believes that it has a previous determination, but in fact the governmental body does not have a previous determination? (ORQ-55)

Parties interested in submitting a brief to the Attorney General concerning this ORQ are asked to please submit the brief no later than August 25, 2000.

For further information, please contact Michael Garbarino at (512) 936-6736.

Assistant Attorney General

Office of the Attorney General

Filed: July 25, 2000