JOE D.

GONZALES
BEXAR COUNTY CRIMINAL DISTRICT ATTORKEY
PACL ELIZONDO 'l'OW8H
101 \V. NU EVA ST.
S.'\N .-\.l\/'!'0)110, TEXAS 78205
(210) :i:lil-2:311

October 4, 2023

Honorable Ken Paxton

Attorney General of Texas
Open Records Division
P.O. Box 12548
Austin, Texas 78711

Re: Request for Attorney General Ruling

File No. DA 23-0985 BCSO S007016

Dear Attorney General Paxton:

On behalf of the Bexar County Sheriffs Office ("Sheriffs Office"), and under
Government Code section 552.301, we request a ruling for this public information
request. The Sheriffs Office received the request on August 28, 2023, from Leigh
Waldman. A copy of the request and subsequent email communications are attached
as Exhibit A. The requestor originally permitted the Sheriffs Office to withhold
confidential information without seeking an Attorney General Decision, however, the
requestor clarified on September 22, 2023, and requested that the Sheriffs Office
seek a ruling on the matter from the Attorney General. (. 9ee
. Exhibit A.) I placed this
correspondence in the mail on October 4, 2023, and it is not timel~,r submitted. 1

Initially, we note that this request for an attorney general ruling failed to
comply with section 552.301 of the Government Code by untimely submitting a
request for a ruling. Generally, this failure results in a legal presumption that the

1
While the requestor originally agreed to mandatory exceptions \Vithout requiring BCSO to seek an AG ruling, the
original response from BCSO to the requestor's original request stating that the records were confidential and being
withheld was not timely.

1
requested information is public and must be released under section 552.302.
However, a governmental body may overcome this presumption b:y demonstrating a
compelling reason to withhold the information from disclosure. Ha11cock v. State Bd.
of Ins.• 797 S.W.2d 379, 381-82 (Tex.App.-Austin 1990, no writ) (governmental body
must make compelling demonstration to overcome presumption of openness pursuant
to statutory predecessor to section 552.302): Open Records Decision No. 319 (1982).
A compelling reason is demonstrated when some other source of law makes the
information at issue confidential or third-party interests are at stake. See ORD No.
150 at 2 (1977); ORL No. 2013·09576 (stating that 552.139 is a compelling reason
sufficient to overcome the presumption of openness). Here, we assert sections 552.101
and 552.101and418.182 of the Government Code, which provide a compelling reason
sufficient to overcome the presumption of openness.

Pursuant to section 552.301(a) of the Go\'ernment Code, this brief is submitted

to seek a decision as to whether the requested information is excepted under section
§§ 552.101 and 418.182 of the Government Code. We have provided a copy of this
brief to the requestor. We have attached a representative sample of the responsive
information as Exhibit B.

Section 552.101 of the Texas Go\ ernment Code excepts from disclosure
1

"information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or

by judicial decision." This exception encompasses section 418.182 of the Government
Code, which provides in relevant part:

information ... in the possession of a governmental entity that relates

to the specifications, operating procedures, or location of a security
system used to protect public or private property from an act of
terrorism or related criminal activity is confidential.

Here, the requested information consists of a surveillance video recording of

the jail facilities within a law enforcement campus. The surveillance video system is
-part gf.BCSO's security system, which is necessary to protect inmates, BCSO staff,
and the general public, as well as public and private property·, from possible acts of
terrorism and criminal activity. The video contains information that identifies
vulnerabilities in the surveillance s.ystem, including camera location and angle, video
quality and clarity·, and surveillance coverage. See 1'ex. Dep't ofPub. Safety v. Abbott,
310 S.W.3d 670 (Tex. App.-Austin 2010, no pet.); see also Open Records Letter
Ruling 08387 at 2 (2017). Accordingly, the requested information contained in Exhibit
B should be withheld from disclosure.

2
 On behalf of the Sheriffs Office, we respectfully· request a decision from the
Open Records Division regarding the applicability of the argued exceptions as
provided by· the Texas Public Information Act.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions or require additional

information.

Sincerel.Y,

Civil Division - Open Records

Bexar County· Criminal District Attorney's Office
Email: DAopenrecords([~bexar.org

Enclosure

cc: Leigh Waldman (without enclosures)

lwaldman@ksat.com

Bexar County Sheriffs Office (without enclosures)

SheriffsOpenRecords@bexar.org