Texas city sues over order to disclose surveillance information
By The Associated Press
01.29.03
AUSTIN, Texas — The city of Austin is suing state Attorney General Greg Abbott, challenging his order that the city comply with a request from the University of Texas student newspaper to disclose information about surveillance cameras.
The lawsuit, filed Jan. 27 in Travis County district court, was the second such lawsuit in less than two weeks. The University of Texas sued the attorney general on Jan. 15, opposing his order that the university fully disclose information about surveillance cameras on campus.
Last October, The Daily Texan requested information concerning the location, recording hours and technical specifications of surveillance cameras and the amount of money spent on them.
David Smith, chief of litigation in the city of Austin legal department, said the city is challenging only the part of the request that seeks the location, hours and technical specifications of the surveillance cameras.
Smith said that involves a law enforcement role that is exempted from open-records laws. He said cameras are used in “vulnerability assessments” as part of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act.
“In assessing terrorism or potential terrorism, we seek to determine where risks might be,” he said. “We use security cameras to protect those areas.” He said disclosing information about the cameras would be harmful to this effort.
Mike Viesca, spokesman for the attorney general, said yesterday that the office had not yet seen the lawsuit.
In denying The Daily Texan’s request, the university had argued that the knowledge could be used to thwart security and would reveal the system’s vulnerabilities.
Abbott disagreed, and said that at a time of heightened concerns about security, the government must remain open. Security cameras are not a part of the law enforcement exception of the national security plan, Abbott ruled.
UT general counsel Patricia Ohlendorf said previously that the university would likely appeal any decision that would require disclosure of the surveillance information.
“It is critical that these records remain private so we can ensure the safety of the public, our employees, our students and staff,” Ohlendorf said in an article in The Daily Texan on Jan. 17.
Ryan D. Pittman, managing editor of the Texan, said the information should be public knowledge.
“We’re confident the court will determine that we — and Austin taxpayers — have a right to that information because it is public record,” Pittman said.