From: Dwayne Bohac
To: John McMillan
Sent: Friday, March 29, 2019, 5:43:34 PM CDT
Subject: RE: OAG: TDHCA may withhold from general public recent e-mails by TDHCA attys that refer to me
Thank you for your correspondence. Your opinion and thoughts are very important to me.
It is my policy to review and record the concerns of each and every constituent who contacts my office. I do respond with a written letter, so please be sure to include your address, city, state, and zip code. Your phone number is appreciated as well. If you did not include your complete address in the original email, please send a separate email with your address and phone number.
We do receive a number of emails daily, so please be patient. We have noted your opinion, and it would be my pleasure to respond to you with a written letter.
Again, thank you for taking the time to write to me.
Best wishes,
Dwayne
Sent: Friday, March 29, 2019, 5:43:34 PM CDT
Subject: RE: OAG: TDHCA may withhold from general public recent e-mails by TDHCA attys that refer to me
Thank you for your correspondence. Your opinion and thoughts are very important to me.
It is my policy to review and record the concerns of each and every constituent who contacts my office. I do respond with a written letter, so please be sure to include your address, city, state, and zip code. Your phone number is appreciated as well. If you did not include your complete address in the original email, please send a separate email with your address and phone number.
We do receive a number of emails daily, so please be patient. We have noted your opinion, and it would be my pleasure to respond to you with a written letter.
Again, thank you for taking the time to write to me.
Best wishes,
Dwayne
_________________
From: John McMillan
To: james.frank@house.texas.gov ; travis.clardy@house.texas.gov ; joe.deshotel@house.texas.gov ; stephanie.klick@house.texas.gov ; thresa.meza@house.texas.gov ; Rick Miller ; candy.noble@house.texas.gov ; toni.rose@house.texas.gov ; State Rep. Angie Chen Button (Dallas area) ; matt.shaheen@house.texas.gov ; jessica.gonzalez@house.texas.gov ; Rep. Vikki Goodwin (2019CentralTX) ; Eric Johnson ; mayes.middleton@house.texas.gov ; christina.morales@house.texas.gov ; jared.patterson@house.texas.gov ; valoree.swanson@house.texas.gov ; Gina Hinojosa ; Garnet F. Coleman ; dwayne.bohac@house.texas.gov ; charles.anderson@house.texas.gov ; Kyle Biedermann ; Rep. Sheryl Cole (2019 CentralTX) ; Texas Tribune Editor In Chief Evan Smith ; alex.dominguez@house.texas.gov ; dan.huberty@house.texas.gov ; jon.rosenthal@house.texas.gov ; Jonathan Stickland ; poncho.nevarez@house.texas.gov ; dennis.paul@house.texas.gov ; dewayne.burns@house.texas.gov ; gina.calanni@house.texas.gov ; Celia Israel ; mike.lang@house.texas.gov ; Tony Tinderholt ; lois.kolkhorst@senate.texas.gov ; charles.perry@senate.texas.gov ; Austin Board of Realtors Lara2015 ; Austin Board of Realtors Andrei Lubomudrov (2015) ; Dawn Buckingham ; Donna Campbell ; peter.flores@senate.texas.gov ; nathan.johnson@senate.texas.gov ; Justin Holland ; borris.miles@senate.texas.gov ; beverly.powell@senate.texas.gov ; kel.seliger@senate.texas.gov ; State Senator Eddie Lucio D-Brownsville ; Senator Kirk Watson Constituent Services Rep. Walcott (2016) ; pat.fallon@senate.texas.gov ; jose.menendez@senate.texas.gov ; Robert Nichols ; carol.alvarado@senate.texas.gov ; Houston Chronicle Letters To the Editor ; Letters To the Editor ; Notre Dame Univ. Center for Civil and Human Rights ; Bethany United Methodist Church Assoc Pastor Sheri Clifton ; pastor@redeemer.net ; office@uachurch.org ; roger@northwestfellowship.com ; Ghbc Postmaster ; Hpbc Info ; Bnaibrith Info ; Brandeis University ; MITProgram On HumanRights&Justice ; HumanRightsWatchOfficials(D.C. Office) ; Letterstoed Internet DropBox ; Unknown National ; margaret.gomez@traviscountytx.gov ; Travis County Criminal Justice/Public Safety Director ; Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion (2017) ; Daily Texan Alumni Association (2016) ; Yessenia (Denny's Lakeline) ; Aurelio Contreras ; adttx@live.com ; Todd Hunter ; Brandon Creighton ; Rice Univ. Polit. Sci. Prof. Brace ; stein@rice.edu ; Rice Univ. Polit Sci Prof. Alford ; Trinity University (San Antonio) Assoc. Prof. Political Science John Hermann ; University of Oklahoma President ; Hubert Vo ; gene.wu@house.texas.gov ; National Association of Jewish Legislators 2017 ; Jewishaction Info ; Jewishnashville Info ; Rhr Israel Info ; Democratic National Committee ; The Republican National Committee ; National Review Editors ; CBS News Story Ideas Editors ; U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (2015)
Sent: Friday, March 29, 2019, 5:41:21 PM CDT
Subject: Fw: OAG: TDHCA may withhold from general public recent e-mails by TDHCA attys that refer to me
A respectful FYI to each of you on the following,
from public-information requestor John Kevin McMillan of Austin, Texas.
Home phone: (512) 342-2295 (a landline phone inside my apt. that does not accept any texts for me)
Home address: Village Oaks Apartments (a NW Austin apartment complex reportedly owned and managed, respectively, by two separately-named for-profit corporations that are each headquartered at the very same street address in Newton, Mass.), 10926 Jollyville Road, Bldg. 16, Apt. 1609, Austin, TX 78759.
My E-mail: mcmillanj@att.net
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: John McMillan
To: Gina Hinojosa
Sent: Friday, March 29, 2019, 4:41:17 PM CDT
Subject: OAG: TDHCA may withhold from general public recent e-mails by TDHCA attys that refer to me
March 29, 2019
A respectful FYI to each of you public officials and other civic leaders on the following signed official ruling earlier this month by the Attorney General of Texas that officially authorizes the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) state agency to withhold from myself (the applicable public-information requestor) any and all e-mail communications
sent or received or written at any time since January 1, 2016, by staff members or attorneys of the TDHCA's Office of General Counsel---with e-mails written solely by myself, John Kevin McMillan of Austin, having been specifically excluded by me from the scope of my January 3, 2019-dated e-mail public-information request to the TDHCA----that each referred in any manner to myself.
I would like to respectfully point out that the TDHCA has never interviewed me in person or on the telephone, and has never invited me to visit that state agency's headquarters here in Austin, at any time in my entire life so far. I myself am not aware of any involvement ever at any time or on any occasion by the TDHCA in any aspect of my own housing conditions or living conditions in Austin, Texas.
I would welcome any reply note from any of you in regard to this legal matter and possible legal-liability issue currently facing the State Government of Texas under Governor Greg Abbott, and possibly also facing the Texas Legislature.
Sincerely and Best Wishes,
John Kevin McMillan.
Home address: Village Oaks Apartments, 10926 Jollyville Road, Apt. 1609, Austin, Texas 78759.
Home phone: (512) 342-2295.
E-mail: mcmillanj@att.net
Blog: http://www.johnkevinmcmillan.blogspot.com
______________________
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
KEN PAXTON
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
Post Office Box 12548, Austin, Texas 78711-2548
(512) 463-2100
www.texasattorneygeneral.gov
March 22, 2019
Mr. Jeffrey T. Pender
Deputy General Counsel
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
P.O. Box 13941
Austin, Texas 78711-3941
OR2019-08088
Dear Mr. Pender:
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# 755605.
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (the "department") received a (January 3, 2019-dated, e-mail public-information) request (final item, below) for all e-mails referring to the requestor (John Kevin McMillan of northwest Austin) sent or received by certain department officials (employed in that state agency's Office of General Counsel) during a specified (most recent three-year) time period, excluding e-mails written by the requestor (Mr. John Kevin McMillan of Austin). You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.107 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.
Section 552.107(1) of the Government Code protects information coming within the attorney-client privilege. When asserting the attorney-client privilege, a governmental body has the burden of providing the necessary facts to demonstrate the elements of the privilege in order to withhold the information at issue. See Open Records Decision No. 676 at 6-7 (2002). First, a governmental body must demonstrate the information constitutes or documents a communication. Id. at 7. Second, the communication must have been made "to facilitate the rendition of professional services" to the client governmental body.
TEX. R. EVID. 503(b)(1). The privilege does not apply when an attorney or representative is involved in some capacity other than that of providing or facilitating professional legal services to the client governmental body. In re Tex. Farmers Ins. Exch., 990 S.W.2d 337, 340 (Tex. App.---Texarkana 1999, orig. proceeding) (attorney-client privilege does not apply if attorney acting in capacity other than that of attorney). Governmental attorneys often act in capacities other than that of professional legal counsel, such as administrators, investigators, or managers. Thus, the mere fact that a communication involves an attorney for the government does not demonstrate this element. Third, the privilege applies only to communications between or among clients, client representatives, lawyers, and lawyer representatives. TEX. R. EVID. 503(b)(1)(A), (B), (C), (D), (E). Thus, a governmental body must inform this office of the identities and capacities of the individuals to whom each communication at issue has been made. Lastly, the attorney-client privilege applies only to a confidential communication, id. (503)(b)(1), meaning it was "not intended to be disclosed to third persons other than those: (A) to whom disclosure is made to further the rendition of professional legal services to the client; or (B) reasonably necessary to transmit the communication." Id. 503(a)(5). Whether a communication meets this definition depends on the intent of the parties involved at the time the information was communicated. See Osborne v. Johnson, 954 S.W.2d 180, 184 (Tex. App.---Waco 1997, orig. proceeding). Moreover, because the client may elect to waive the privilege at any time, a governmental body must explain the confidentiality of a communication has been maintained. Section 552.107(1) generally excepts an entire communication that is demonstrated to be protected by the attorney-client privilege unless otherwise waived by the governmental body. See Huie v. DeShazo, 922 S.W.2d 920, 923 (Tex. 1996) (privilege extends to entire communication, including facts contained therein).
You state the submitted information consists of communications between attorneys for the department and department employees that were made for the purpose of providing legal services to the department. You state the communications were intended to be confidential and have remained confidential. Based on your representations and our review, we find you have established the submitted information consists of privileged attorney-client communications. Therefore, the department may withhold the submitted information under section 552.107(1) of the Government Code.
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 (John Kevin McMillan of Austin). For more information concerning those rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at http://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/open/orl_ruling_info.shtml, or call the Office of the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable charges for providing public information under the Act may be directed to the Office of the Attorney General, toll free, at (888) 672-6787.
Sincerely,
Kieran Hillis (signature)
Kieran Hillis
Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Division
KH/gw
Ref.: ID#755605
Enc. Submitted documents
c: Requestor (John Kevin McMillan, Village Oaks Apartments, 10926 Jollyville Road, Apt. 1609, Austin, TX 78759)
(w/o enclosures)
__________________________
From: John McMillan <mcmillanj@att.net>
Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2019 10:08 PM
To: Open Records <open.records@mail.tdhca.state.tx.us>; Gina Hinojosa <gina.hinojosa@house.texas.gov>; Kirk Watson <kirk.watson@senate.texas.gov>; Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt <sarah.eckhardt@traviscountytx.gov>; Gerald Daugherty <gerald.daugherty@traviscountytx.gov>; Governor's Office of Texas Open Records Administrator <publicrecords@governor.state.tx.us>; Austin Mayor Steve Adler <steve.adler@austintexas.gov>; U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Devlpt (TX regional office) <tx_webmanager@hud.gov>
Subject: 1-3-19 PIR re: TDHCA General Counsel and me
To: Open Records <open.records@mail.tdhca.state.tx.us>; Gina Hinojosa <gina.hinojosa@house.texas.gov>; Kirk Watson <kirk.watson@senate.texas.gov>; Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt <sarah.eckhardt@traviscountytx.gov>; Gerald Daugherty <gerald.daugherty@traviscountytx.gov>; Governor's Office of Texas Open Records Administrator <publicrecords@governor.state.tx.us>; Austin Mayor Steve Adler <steve.adler@austintexas.gov>; U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Devlpt (TX regional office) <tx_webmanager@hud.gov>
Subject: 1-3-19 PIR re: TDHCA General Counsel and me
January 3, 2019
Dear Open Records Officials for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) state agency in Austin,
This is a Texas Open Records request in which I seek to obtain from you a copy of any and all e-mail letters referring at least once in any manner to myself, John Kevin McMillan of Austin, Texas, that were each received, sent, forwarded, or written at any time since January 1, 2016, by the chief attorney for your state agency or any staff member or attorney directly supervised by that chief attorney inside the Office of General Counsel for your state agency.
Excluded from the scope of this public-information request are any and all e-mail letters that were exclusively and solely written by myself.
My legal name is John Kevin McMillan. My date of birth is April 27, 1957. I am a native of Lincoln, Nebraska.
My personal e-mail address has remained the same throughout the entire three-year period applicable to this public-information request. That e-mail address for me is: mcmillanj@att.net .
My respective home addresses during the period ever since January 1, 2016, have been: 10926 Jollyville Road, Apt. 902, Austin, TX, 78759;
and, ever since early September 2017, 10926 Jollyville Road, Apt. 1609, Austin, TX 78759.
Thank you in advance for your helpful reply letter to me on this.
Sincerely and Best Wishes,
John Kevin McMillan,
Home address: 10926 Jollyville Road, Apt. 1609, Austin, TX 78759.
Home phone: (512) 342-2295.
E-mail: mcmillanj@att.net
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