ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS CONFIRMS IN WRITING THAT IT PURSUED LEGAL CORRESPONDENCE WITH A PRIVATE LAW FIRM IN SOUTH AUSTIN ---THE CONTENTS OF WHICH WERE NOT SHARED BY EITHER PARTY WITH THE PRIVATE-CITIZEN COMPLAINANT --- IN REGARD TO A RECENT OPEN RECORDS COMPLAINT FROM JOHN KEVIN McMILLAN OF NORTHWEST AUSTIN AGAINST THE PUBLICLY-OWNED AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

(A copy of the following signed two-page legal letter on official Attorney General of Texas state agency-letterhead stationery was received in the mail delivery for Friday, November 4, 2016, by the public-information requestor, John Kevin McMillan of Austin, in the designated mailbox for Village Oaks Apartments, Apartment 902, a rental unit where Mr. McMillan currently resides as a designated occupant.---jkm)

"KEN PAXTON
"ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

"November 2, 2016

"Ms. Catherine Brown Fryer
"Bickerstaff, Heath, Delgado & Acosta, L.L.P.
"3711 South MoPac Expressway
"Building One, Suite 300
"Austin, Texas 78746

"Dear Ms. Fryer:

"Thank you for your correspondence in response to the complaint from Mr. John Kevin McMillan alleging the Austin Community College (the 'college') is overcharging for copies of public information under the Public Information Act (the 'Act'), chapter 552 of the Government Code. This complaint was assigned ID# 629110.

"The college received a request for documents regarding the requestor for a specified period of time. The college provided the requestor an estimate in the amount of $393.35. This office asked the college to respond to a series of questions in order to determine if the charges are appropriate. We have received the college's response.

"The cost rules promulgated by this office allow a governmental body to charge $28.50 per hour for time spent programming. See 1 T.A.C. 70.3(c); see also Gov't Code 552.003(4) (defining programming). In addition, the cost rules allow a labor charge of $15.00 per hour for time spent locating, compiling, manipulating data, and reproducing the responsive information. See 1 T.A.C. 70.3(d)(1). You describe the tasks being performed as searching e-mails. None of the tasks described by the college meet the definition of programming cited above. However, those tasks do qualify as labor for locating the responsive information. In addition, the college is allowed to charge for time spent redacting confidential information. See id. 70.3(d)(4). Accordingly, the college may charge $15.00 per hour, or $0.25 per minute for the actual time it takes to locate and redact confidential information from the responsive information.

"Next, we address the requestor's assertion that there should be minimal e-mails responsive to his request. We note the college may not charge the requestor if no e-mails are found responsive to his request. See Gov't Code 552.261(a) (governmental body may only charge if copy of responsive information is provided). Accordingly, if no responsive e-mails are found, there should be no charge.

"Within five business days of receiving this letter, the college is required to notify the requestor in writing of any amended charges to receive copies of the requested information. On receipt of a copy (of) this communication to the requestor, we will close our file on this matter.

"If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact us at (888) 672-6787.

"Sincerely,

"Tamara R. Smith
"Assistant Attorney General
"Education and Enforcement Section
"Open Records Division

"TRS/sb

"Ref: ID# 629110

"c: Mr. John Kevin McMillan
"10926 Jollyville Road, #902
"Austin, Texas 78759"

_____________
(EXPLANATORY NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS THE EXACT VERBATIM TEXT OF THE APPLICABLE E-MAIL TEXAS OPEN RECORDS REQUEST THAT I MYSELF, JOHN KEVIN McMILLAN OF NORTHWEST AUSTIN, WROTE AND SENT TO AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE ON JULY 18, 2016. I LATER AGREED IN WRITING TO NARROW THE SCOPE OF THE REQUEST, IN RESPONSE TO A COST-SAVINGS RECOMMENDATION TO ME FROM ACC, BY LIMITING THE SCOPE OF MY REQUEST TO INCLUDE DOCUMENTS REFERRING TO MYSELF, JOHN KEVIN McMILLAN OF AUSTIN, IN THE CITED FIVE-YEAR PERIOD THAT WERE SPECIFICALLY GENERATED BY ONE OR TWO OF THE TWO TOTAL SPECIFICALLY NAMED OFFICIALS IN THE ACC PRESIDENT'S OFFICE (EITHER EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT PAM SUTTON ONLY, AT A CITED ACC PROCESSING CHARGE TO MYSELF OF $393.35, OR PAM SUTTON AND PRESIDENT RHODES, WITH ACC STATING TO ME IN WRITING THAT THE ESTIMATED CHARGE TO ME FOR ACC PROVIDING ME WITH ALL RESPONSIVE DOCUMENTS ON THAT WOULD BE $846.20, OR THE SAME FINANCIAL AMOUNT AS IF ALL ACC PRESIDENT'S OFFICE STAFF MEMBERS HAD BEEN INCLUDED IN THE SCOPE OF MY REQUEST) WHO SOMETIMES OR FREQUENTLY OR ROUTINELY RESPOND TO OR WRITE E-MAIL NOTES OR OTHER WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS IN REGARD TO E-MAIL CORRESPONDENCE BY ANYONE THAT IS SENT TO ACC PRESIDENT RICHARD RHODES. -- jkm)

On Monday, July 18, 2016 11:40 PM, John McMillan wrote:

"To: Dahlia Anzaldua-Torres,
"Public Information Coordinator,
"Austin Community College,
"5930 Middle Fiskville Road,
"Austin, TX 78752
"Office phone: (512) 223-7595

"July 18, 2016

"Dear Open Records Coordinator Anzaldua-Torres,

"This is a Texas Open Records request in which I seek to obtain from you a copy of any and all letters or E-mail communications or other written documents that ACC President Dr. Richard M. Rhodes of your Austin-based system of public higher education, or any staff member employed in the Office of the President of ACC, has written at any time since the morning of September 1, 2011, and that, in each and every such case, referred at least once to myself, John Kevin McMillan of northwest Austin, in any manner or any way.

"My legal name is John Kevin McMillan. My E-mail address is: mcmillanj@att.net. I have written and sent numerous E-mail letters to ACC President Rhodes during the most recent five-year period.

"During the period ever since September 1, 2011, I myself have resided as a rent-paying tenant at three different residences:
"---Wind River Crossing Apartments, 11411 Research Boulevard, Building 3, Apt. 325, Austin, Texas, 78759;
"---Crossland Economy Studios, 12621 Hymeadow Road, Apt. 133, Austin, Texas, 78729;
"---and, ever since late September 2015, Village Oaks Apartments, 10926 Jollyville Road, Building 9, Apt. 902, Austin, Texas, 78759.

"My current roommate at Village Oaks Apartments, a tall Anglo gentleman in his 20s who states his legal name as 'Brett Andrew Meyer', politely stated to me last night in the living room of his and my two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment unit we are currently renting together, that he himself has been a 'registered student' at Austin Community College throughout the most recent one-year period, Mr. Meyer stated.

"Among the insights I hope to glean through this public-information request are:

"---Has President Rhodes expressed any concern in writing about any aspect of my own living conditions or quality of life or working conditions in Austin, Texas?

"---What has been President Rhodes's reaction or response to the numerous E-mail letters I have written and sent to him that referred to my being a single-by-choice, longtime-celibate-by-choice, dependably civil and law-abiding and honest, permanently alcohol-free (ever since 1990), permanently illicit-drug-free and anti-illicit-drug-minded, white adult male self-identified victim of alleged felony personal-injury-crimes and alleged felony-anal-rape-crimes in Austin, Texas?

"---Has President Rhodes contacted any law-enforcement agency, such as the ACC Police Department or the Austin Police Department or the Texas Rangers Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety or the Office of the Attorney General of Texas or the Travis County District Attorney's Office or the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in any context that referred at least once to myself, John Kevin McMillan of Austin, in any way?

"---Does President Rhodes believe or sense that possibly Austin Community College may have incurred any possible legal liability that refers or relates in some possible manner to myself, John Kevin McMillan of Austin?

"I was born on April 27, 1957, at Lincoln, Nebraska. I am an alumnus of and former salutatorian of Stephen F. Austin High School of Austin ISD in Austin, Texas; the University of Texas at Austin; and the University of Minnesota Graduate School of Journalism and Mass Communications in Minneapolis.

"I am the founder and only current approved new member of a new and non-Christian, implicitly deistic and rationally religious and prayer-free 'Honor Society' religion, the anti-alcohol, anti-tobacco, anti-facial-hair-minded, anti-illicit-drug-minded, anti-tattoos-minded, anti-profanity-in-everyday-speech-minded, anti-anonymous-communications-minded, and anti-thought-control-projects-minded, 'Progressive Prohibitionist Religion', with very stringent membership-eligibility requirements.

"I hope to hear from you soon in response to this public-information request from myself.

"Please provide me with a cost estimate in advance if you sense that you might charge me more than $20 for processing this public-information request from myself. That information from you would then enable me to narrow the scope of this public-information request in order to minimize the administrative-processing expenses I myself incur from requesting the cited legal documents from your school.

"Sincerely and Best Wishes,

"John Kevin McMillan.
"10926 Jollyville Road, Building 9, Apt. 902, Austin, Texas, 78759.
"Home phone: (512) 342-2295.
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"John Kevin McMillan"