City Appealing AG's Ruling to Produce Documents - Why is City still withholding documents?

[dcb]

The City Secretary informed me that the City is going to appeal the
Attorney General's August 12, 2009 ruling that the documents the City
withheld from open records responses have to be produced. The records
were reportedly related to the Alvin transaction.

Who is authorizing the City Attorney to appeal the AG's ruling to turn
over the documents? I guess there will be more attorneys fees
incurred instead of just releasing the documents. This is after the
City Council has given a very bleak financial picture for the City and
yet needless attorney hours are being spent to keep documents away
from residents. . . Not long ago, Councilmembers were talking about
transparent government. . . Incredibly, according to the AG's letter,
the documents being withheld include documents that have my e-mail
address.

[DeborahWC]

What is the City HIDING from the Residents???

[Frazier, Rebecca L]

Or.......who are they protecting, and why........

[dcb]

When the City says it will appeal, I need to look into what that
means. My husband was looking at the OAG Manual and didnt see an
appeal provision. I'll review the manual also. It may mean that the
City will file suit to seek to withhold the information. I asked an
attorney that handles open records request for government entities
whether the City had an appeal right and was told the issue never came
up in that attorney's practice because it is rare for a City to get a
response to cause that much concern. In this instance, the City
failed to show the documents were covered by attorney client privilege
according to the AG. Attorney client privilege is pretty easy to show
in written documents. We do not even need to get into the more
complicated arguments of whether the city waived the privilege,
because the City wholesale failed to prove the documents were covered
by privilege.

All I can do is keep pursuing issues and thank the City for giving me
a reason to self-educate myself on so many facets of Texas law that I
would never need to research otherwise. The more we learn, the more
we grow. . .

On Aug 18, 5:18 pm, "Frazier, Rebecca L"

> > address.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Pat ORear]

From http://www.txstate.edu/about/open_records_act.html

see last line

B. Information that may be withheld due to an exception

•By the tenth (10th) business day after a governmental body receives
your written request, a governmental body must:
1. request an Attorney General opinion and state which exceptions
apply;
2. notify the requestor of the referral to the Attorney General;
and
3. notify third parties if the request involves their proprietary
information.

•Failure to request an Attorney General opinion and notify the
requestor within 10 business days will result in a presumption that
the information is open unless there is a compelling reason to
withhold it.
•Requestors may send a letter to the Attorney General arguing for
release, and may review arguments made by the governmental body. If
the arguments disclose the requested information, the requestor may
obtain a redacted copy.
•The Attorney General must issue a decision no later than the 45th
working day from the day after the attorney general received the
request for a decision. The attorney general may request an additional
10 working day extension.
•Governmental bodies may not ask the Attorney General to "reconsider"
an opinion.

> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

[dcb]

The public information act has had some changes just recently but they
do not take effect until Sept. 1, 2009. Below is an explanation of
the procedures from a 2008 AG letter.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and
responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For
example, governmental bodies are prohibited from asking the attorney
general to reconsider this ruling. Gov't Code § 552.301(f). If the
governmental body wants to challenge this ruling, the governmental
body must file suit in Travis County within 30 calendar days. Id. §
552.324(b). In order to get the full benefit of such a challenge, the
governmental body must file suit within 10 calendar days. Id. § 552.353
(b)(3), (c). If the governmental body does not appeal this ruling and
the governmental body does not comply with it, then both the requestor
and the attorney general have the right to file suit against the
governmental body to enforce this ruling. Id. § 552.321(a).

If this ruling requires the governmental body to release all or part
of the requested information, the governmental body is responsible for
taking the next step. Based on the statute, the attorney general
expects that, upon receiving this ruling, the governmental body will
either release the public records promptly pursuant to section 552.221
(a) of the Government Code or file a lawsuit challenging this ruling
pursuant to section 552.324 of the Government Code. If the
governmental body fails to do one of these things, then the requestor
should report that failure to the attorney general's Open Government
Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. The requestor may also file a
complaint with the district or county attorney. Id. § 552.3215(e).






On Aug 19, 4:21 am, dcb <deirdrecbr...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> The City apparently means it is filing suit to prevent the disclosure
> when it says it is "appealing."  I will confirm with City Secretary.
>
> On Aug 19, 12:28 am, Pat ORear <friendswo...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Fromhttp://www.txstate.edu/about/open_records_act.html

[Frazier, Rebecca L]

I smell another Galveston Daily News article coming......Unfortunately for all, this Mayer and Council are tarnishing our "Friendly City" image at a time when we need businesses to come here more than ever! Even more unfortunate, is the fact that the Mayor/Council will blame the Friendswood5 for stirring the pot. So very sad.....

In the meantime, my 9-year old son (and Janis' grandson) plays football at Windsong, with 3" cracks, tripping over huge weed clumps, with no lights or access to restrooms. I'm thinking I'll improve my 2-acre pasture and rent it to the City for soccer and football....Hey, what's Mike Barker's phone number....

Rlf

Rebecca Frazier | Sr. Manager | Site Services Houston
The Boeing Company | 13100 Space Center Blvd. HB1-20 | Houston, TX 77059
Office 281.226.4737 | Mobile 281.685.1645 | Fax 281.226.6924

-----Original Message-----
From: dcb [mailto:deirdr...@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 5:13 AM
To: City of Friendswood vs Citizens of Friendswood
Subject: Re: City Appealing AG's Ruling to Produce Documents - Why is City still withholding documents?

The public information act has had some changes just recently but they do not take effect until Sept. 1, 2009. Below is an explanation of the procedures from a 2008 AG letter.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For example, governmental bodies are prohibited from asking the attorney general to reconsider this ruling. Gov't Code § 552.301(f). If the governmental body wants to challenge this ruling, the governmental body must file suit in Travis County within 30 calendar days. Id. § 552.324(b). In order to get the full benefit of such a challenge, the governmental body must file suit within 10 calendar days. Id. § 552.353 (b)(3), (c). If the governmental body does not appeal this ruling and the governmental body does not comply with it, then both the requestor and the attorney general have the right to file suit against the governmental body to enforce this ruling. Id. § 552.321(a).

If this ruling requires the governmental body to release all or part of the requested information, the governmental body is responsible for taking the next step. Based on the statute, the attorney general expects that, upon receiving this ruling, the governmental body will either release the public records promptly pursuant to section 552.221
(a) of the Government Code or file a lawsuit challenging this ruling pursuant to section 552.324 of the Government Code. If the governmental body fails to do one of these things, then the requestor should report that failure to the attorney general's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. The requestor may also file a complaint with the district or county attorney. Id. § 552.3215(e).






On Aug 19, 4:21 am, dcb <deirdrecbr...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> The City apparently means it is filing suit to prevent the disclosure
> when it says it is "appealing."  I will confirm with City Secretary.
>
> On Aug 19, 12:28 am, Pat ORear <friendswo...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Fromhttp://www.txstate.edu/about/open_records_act.html
>
> > see last line
>
> > B. Information that may be withheld due to an exception
>

> > *By the tenth (10th) business day after a governmental body receives

> > your written request, a governmental body must:
> >      1. request an Attorney General opinion and state which
> > exceptions apply;
> >      2. notify the requestor of the referral to the Attorney
> > General; and
> >      3. notify third parties if the request involves their
> > proprietary information.
>

> > *Failure to request an Attorney General opinion and notify the

> > requestor within 10 business days will result in a presumption that
> > the information is open unless there is a compelling reason to
> > withhold it.

> > *Requestors may send a letter to the Attorney General arguing for

> > release, and may review arguments made by the governmental body. If
> > the arguments disclose the requested information, the requestor may
> > obtain a redacted copy.

> > *The Attorney General must issue a decision no later than the 45th

> > working day from the day after the attorney general received the
> > request for a decision. The attorney general may request an
> > additional 10 working day extension.

> > *Governmental bodies may not ask the Attorney General to "reconsider"