Texas Register, Volume 14, Number 78, Pages 5585-5650, October 20, 1989 Page: 5,597
5585-5650 p. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Attorney General____
Description of Attorney General submissions. Under provisions set out in the Texas Constitution, the Texas
Government Code, Title 4, 402.042 and numerous statutes, the attorney general is authorized to write advisory
opinions for state and local officials. These advisory opinions are requested by agencies or officials when they are
confronted with unique or unusually difficult legal questions. The attorney general also determines, under authority of
the Texas Open Records Act, whether information requested for release from governmental agencies maybe held
from public disclosure. Requests for opinions, opinions, and open record decisions are summarized for publication in
the Texas Register. The Attorney General responds to many requests for opinions and open records decisions with
letter opinions. A letter opinion has the same force and effect as a formal Attorney General Opinion, and represents
the opinion of the Attorney General unless and until it is modified or overruled by a subsequent letter opinion, a
formal Attorney General Opinion, or a decision of a court of record.Open Records Decisions
ORD-529 (RQ-1515). Request from Fred
G. Rodriguez, Criminal District Attorney,
Bexar County Courthouse, San Antonio,
concerning whether the Communicable Dis-
ease Prevention and Control Act, Chapter
81 of the Health and Safety Code, prohibits
public disclosure of AIDS test results in-
cluded in an autopsy report.
Summary of Decisions. Chapter 81,
Subchapter F, of the Health and Safety
Code, which makes the results of AIDS test
confidential, does not apply to AIDS test
results included in an autopsy report pre-
pared by a medical examiner in connection
with an inquest. Accordingly, the autopsy
report, including the AIDS test result, is
accessible to the public under the express
terms of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
Article 49.25, 11.
TRD-8909720
ORD-530 (RQ-1638). Request from Roel
Smith, Superintendent, Donna Independent
School District, Donna, concerning whether
the Open Records Act, 13(a)(17), protects
public employees home addresses and tele-
phone numbers when the employees have
not designated the information confidential
within the time allowed by Lhe Act, J3A.
Summary of Decision. The Texas Open
Records Act, Texas Civil Statutes, Article
6252-17a, 3(a)(17), does not automatically
protect public officers' and employees'
home addresses and telephone numbers
from required public disclosure unless the
employee is a peace officer. To obtain the
protection of 3(aX17), non-peace officer
employees and officers and former officers
and employees must exercise their privilege
under either subsection (a) or (b) of the
Open Records Act, 3A. The exercise of
the option to close public access to home
addresses and telephone numbers does not
apply to an open records request made be-
fore the option was exercised.
TRD-8909719ORD-531 (RQ-1640). Request from
Lloyd Garza, City Attorney, City of San
Antonio. San Antonio, concerning whether
a city police department's "Use of Force"
policy is excepted from disclosure by the
Open Records Act, 3(a)(8).
Summary of Decision. The Open Re-
cords Act, 3(a)(8), authorizes the San An-
tonio Police Department to withhold the
portions of its "Use of Force" procedures
prepared for its officers that state detailed
guidelines on the use of force. The portions
of the procedures which restate generally
known common-law rules, constitutional
limitations, or Penal Code provisions are
open to the public.
TRD-8909718
*
Opinions.
JM-1105 (RQ-1768). Request from
Pamela K. McKay, Kendall County Attor-
ney, Boerne, concerning authority of a com-
missioners court to reclassify a second class
mroad as a neighborhood road.
Summary of Opinion. The commission-
ers court is without authority to reclassify a
second-class road as a neighborhood road.
TRD-8909723
JM-1106 (RQ-1734). Request from
Charles D. Travis, Executive Director,
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department,
Austin, concerning validity of a municipal
ordinance prohibiting the towing or drag-
ging of nets near a bulkhead.
Summary of Opinion. The Village of
Tiki Island is authorized to enact an ordi-
nance prohibiting the towing of nets in cer-
tain areas of public water within the corpo-
rate limits of the village.
TRD-8909722JM-1107 (RQ-1802). Request from Lynn
B. Polson, Acting Executive Director, De-
partmnent of Information Resources, Austin,
concerning construction of conflict of inter-
est provisions of Texas Civil Statutes, Arti-
cle 4413(32j), which creates the Department
of Information Resources.
Summary of Opinion. In applying the
conflict of interest provisions found in
Texas Civil Statutes, Article 4413(32j)
18(a)(3) and 8(aX4), the Department of
Information Resources should consider an
employee's community property interest in
his spouse's interests in or income from a
business entity that has a substantial interest
in the information resources technologies
industry and that may contract with state
government. Whether specific individuals
are barred from working for the department
must be determined on a case-by-case basis.
An applicant's or employee's stock in a
business entity acquired while an employee
of the bisnerass through a pension or stock
ownership plan should also be counted in
determining that individual's ownership in-
terest. A parent's interest in a business en-
tity should not be attributed to an individu-
al, unless the facts show that he actually
controls it.
TRD-8909721
JM-1104 (RQ-1795). Request from
Hilary B. Doran, Jr., Chairman, Texas Rac-
ing Commission, Austin, concerning au-
thority of Texas Racing Commission to re-
define by rule the term "breeder".
Summary of Opinion. The Racing Com-
mission has no authority to disregard the
statutory definition of "breeder" in regard to
thoroughbreds for purposes of the Texas
Racing Act, Texas Civil Statutes, Article
179e, 16.08.
TRD-8909719* Attorney General October 20, 1989 14 TexReg 5597
, Attorney Gtt ral October 20, 1989 14 TexReg 5597
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Texas. Secretary of State. Texas Register, Volume 14, Number 78, Pages 5585-5650, October 20, 1989, periodical, October 20, 1989; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth216067/m1/11/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.