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Home My WebLink AboutCOHM-R003301-030226 Final Letter Post Office Box 12548, Austin, Texas 78711-2548 • (512) 463-2100 • www.texasattorneygeneral.gov May 21, 2026 Mr. Joseph G. Hays Counsel for the City of Humble Olson & Olson, L.L.P. 2727 Allen Parkway, Suite 600 Houston, Texas 77019-2133 OR2026-021157 Dear Mr. Hays: You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the “Act”), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 26-013305 (Ref. No. COHM-R003301-030226). The City of Humble (the “city”), which you represent, received a request for information pertaining to a specified property. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. Additionally, you state release of the information at issue may implicate the proprietary interests numerous of third parties. Accordingly, you state the city notified these third parties of the request for information and of the right to submit arguments to this office as to why the submitted information should not be released.1 See Gov’t Code § 552.305(d); see also Open Records Decision No. 542 (1990) (statutory predecessor to section 552.305 permits governmental body to rely on interested third party to raise and explain applicability of exception in the Act in certain circumstances). We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information. We note an interested third party is allowed ten business days after the date of its receipt of the governmental body’s notice under section 552.305(d) to submit its reasons, if any, as to why information relating to that party should be withheld from public disclosure. See Gov’t Code § 552.305(d)(2)(B). As of the date of this letter, we have not received comments from any of the third parties explaining why the submitted information should not be released. Therefore, we have no basis to conclude any of the third parties have a protected 1 The third parties notified are: Garden Ridge; Hodges Engineering; Neon Electric Corporation; Optima Engineering; RPS (formerly Klotz Associates); and Universal Sprinkler Corporation. Mr. Joseph G. Hays - Page 2 proprietary interest in the submitted information. See, e.g., id. § 552.110 (requiring the provision of specific factual evidence demonstrating the applicability of the exception). Accordingly, the city may not withhold the submitted information on the basis of any proprietary interest the third parties may have in it. Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure “information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision.” Id. § 552.101. This section encompasses information that is made confidential by other statutes, such as section 418.181 of the Government Code, which was added to chapter 418 of the Government Code as part of the Texas Homeland Security Act (the “HSA”). Section 418.181 provides “[t]hose documents or portions of documents in the possession of a governmental entity are confidential if they identify the technical details of particular vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure to an act of terrorism or a hostile act by a foreign adversary of the United States.” Id. § 418.181; see also id. § 421.001(2) (defining “critical infrastructure” to include “all public or private assets, systems, and functions vital to the security, governance, public health and safety, economy, or morale of the state or the nation”). The fact that information may relate to a governmental body’s security concerns does not make the information per se confidential under the HSA. See Open Records Decision No. 649 at 3 (1996) (language of confidentiality provision controls scope of its protection). Furthermore, the mere recitation by a governmental body of a statute’s key terms is not sufficient to demonstrate the applicability of a claimed provision. As with any confidentiality provision, a governmental body asserting one of the confidentiality provisions of the HSA must adequately explain how the responsive information falls within the scope of the claimed provision. See Gov’t Code § 552.301(e)(1)(A) (governmental body must explain how claimed exception to disclosure applies). We note the submitted information identifies details and locations of components of city utility systems. These systems are critical infrastructure for purposes of section 418.181. See id. § 421.001(2). However, we are unable to determine whether the information at issue would identify the technical details of particular vulnerabilities of the city’s critical infrastructure to an act of terrorism. Accordingly, to the extent the city determines the information would identify the technical details of particular vulnerabilities of the city’s critical infrastructure to an act of terrorism, the city must withhold such information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 418.181 of the Government Code. To the extent the city does not make such a determination, the information is not confidential under section 418.181 and may not be withheld under section 552.101 on that basis. The city must release the remaining information. This letter ruling is limited to the particular information at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other information or any other circumstances. This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For more information concerning those rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/open- government/members-public/what-expect-after-ruling-issued or call the OAG’s Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable Mr. Joseph G. Hays - Page 3 charges for providing public information under the Public Information Act may be directed to the Cost Rules Administrator of the OAG, toll free, at (888) 672-6787. Sincerely, Emma Irvin Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division EI/sb Ref: ID# 26-013305 c: Requestor Third Parties Reference No: R003301-030226 Request Status: Sent for Legal Review Service Request Type: Public Records Request Priority: Medium Assigned To: Elation Killian Customer Email: Name: Customer Phone: Create Date: 3/2/2026 3:34:11 PM Update Date: 3/5/2026 7:44:57 AM Last Reviewed: 3/5/2026 7:44:57 AM Source: Web : Public Information Center : City of Humble Pursuant to Texas Government Code, Ch. 552, I am requesting certain information, specifically: I would like to request electronic copies of any current and historical building/demolition plans, permits, as -built documents, or records for any structure that was/is on the property, for building, and any permits/records regarding aboveground storage tanks (ASTs), underground storage tanks (USTs), septic tanks, notices of violations, or hazardous material storage for the listed property. Date Range From: 01/01/1940 Date Range To: 03/31/2026 City of Humble Address or Locatior(s): 9450 Farm to Market 1960 Bypass Rd W, Humble, TX 77338 / Harris County Parcel No. 1217440010001 Preferred Method to Receive Records: Electronic via Customer Portal Clarifications Requested: Clarifications Received: Public Archive Summary: I agree that if the cost of my request is between $10 and $39.99, then I will pay that amount to obtain the requested records. I acknowledge that if the cost of my request is $40 or more, then I will receive a cost estimate before any work is done.: I agree Redaction Disclaimer: I acknowledge that the City of Humble will not provide me with any further notice that those types of information have been redacted.: 1 agree