Georgia Open Records Act
From Sunshine Review
The Georgia Open Records Act, or Georgia Sunshine Law, is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Georgia.
The Georgia Open Meetings Act legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.
To learn more about how to make a public records request in this state, please see: Georgia FOIA procedures
[edit] Recent news
- See also: Georgia transparency headlines
[edit] Transparency blocking
- Editorial: Good news, bad news on Open Records Act May 30, 2009
- Clarke BOE, counsel need schooling on records May 30, 2009
- BOE lawyer delays contract release May 30, 2009
More transparency blocking news from across the country.
[edit] Litigation
- Ex-chief sues city over open meetings May 30, 2009
- Taxpayers push for public records May 29, 2009
- Anson fights inquiry on wife May 29, 2009
More FOIA litigation news from across the country.
[edit] Legislation
- Bill to keep police-citizen e-mail lists private May 30, 2009
- Hall loaded with records requests May 30, 2009
- BoE argues about openness May 30, 2009
More FOIA legislation news from across the country.
[edit] Sunshine Guardians
No recent news. If you have news add it here
Other Sunshine Guardians from across the country.
[edit] Relevant legal cases
- See also: Court cases with an impact on state FOIA
Here is a list of lawsuits in Georgia. For more information go the page or go to Georgia sunshine lawsuits.
(The cases are listed alphabetically. To order them by year please click the icon to the right of the Year heading)
| Lawsuit | Year |
|---|---|
| Athens Newspapers, Inc., et al. v. Classic Center Authority for Clarke County | 1989 |
| Atlanta Journal and Constitution v. Long | 1988 |
| Atlanta Journal v. Babush | 1988 |
| Atlanta Journal v. Hill | 1987 |
| Beck v. Crisp County Zoning Board of Appeals | 1996 |
| Brennan v. Commissioners of Chatham County | 1993 |
| Bryan County Board of Equalization v. Bryan County Board of Tax Assessors | 2001 |
| Camden County v. Haddock | 1999 |
| City of Atlanta v. Pacific & Southern Company, Inc. | 1987 |
| City of Helen v. White County News | 1996 |
| Claxton Enterprise v. Evans County Board of Commissioners | 2001 |
| Coggin v. Davey | 1975 |
| Crosland v. Butts County Board of Zoning Appeals | 1994 |
| Davis v. City of Macon | 1992 |
| Davis v. Shavers | 1994 |
| Deriso v. Cooper | 1980 |
| Dozier v. Norris | 1978 |
| Evans County Board of Commissioners v. The Claxton Enterprise | 2002 |
| Fathers Are Parents Too v. Hunstein | 1992 |
| Goddard v. City of Albany | 2009 |
| Green v. Drinnon | 1992 |
| Guthrie v. Dalton City School District | 1994 |
| Hackworth v. Board of Education | 1994 |
| Harms v. Adams | 1977 |
| Jersawitz v. Fortson | 1994 |
| Johnson v. Nicely | 1988 |
| Kilgore v. RW Page Corporation | 1989 |
| Kilgore v. RW Page Corporation, 1991 | 1991 |
| Macon Telegraph v. City of Forsyth | 1988 |
| Maxwell v. Carney | 2001 |
| McLarty v. Board of Regents | 1973 |
| Moon v. Terrell County et al. | 2001 |
| News Publishing Company d/b/a Rome News-Tribune v. Board of Education of the City of Rome | 1991 |
| Newsome v. City of Union Point | 1982 |
| Northside Realty Association v. Community Relations Commission | 1977 |
| Northwest Georgia Health System, Inc. v. Times-Journal, Inc. | 1995 |
| Parker v. Lee | 1989 |
| Phillips v. Hawthorne | 1998 |
| Red & Black Publishing Company v. Board of Regents | 1993 |
| Schoen v. Cherokee County | 2000 |
| State of Georgia v. Kennedy | 1985 |
| Steele v. Honea | 1991 |
| Times-Journal, Inc., d/b/a Marietta Daily Journal v. Cobb County, et al. | 1989 |
| Walker v. City of Warner Robins | 1992 |
| Wiggins v. The Board of Commissioners of Tift County, GA | 2002 |
| Worthy v. Paulding County Hospital Authority | 1979 |
[edit] Proposed transparency legislation
[edit] 2010
Here is a list of transparency legislation for Georgia in 2010:
| Rating | Bill | Current Status | Progress | Information | ||||||||||||||||||||
 A | House Bill 122 | Current Status: X (Sent to Gov. 05/03/2010) |
|
House Bill 122 is a bill introduced into the Georgia House of Representatives that would require all cities with a budget of over $1,000,000 to post their budget online. [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
 B | House Bill 1322 | Current Status:X (Sent to governor 05/10/2010) |
|
HB 1322 is a bill which would exempt "certain photographs fewer than five years old which are in the custody of a law enforcement agency which show graphic images of the sexual organs or the dismemberment of the dead body of a crime victim whose identity is known shall not be subject to public disclosure."[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
[edit] 2009
House Bill 171 [1] would exempt individual's names and contact information from public records. Blogger Johnny Edwards is urging for this bill to fail, saying "The key word is "name." All kinds of documents would become useless. Want to find out who's behind the company that just got awarded a lucrative city contract? Sorry. Want to see the work application of a high school teacher accused of having sex with teenagers? Good luck." [2]
Senate Bill 26 would exempt e-mail distribution lists kept by police and fire departments from Open Records requests. [3]
Senate Bill 124 [4] would require that social security numbers be redacted from public documents.
[edit] Transparency report card
A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Georgia #27 in the nation with an overall percentage of 51.60%. [5]
A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Georgia 41 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "F", and a ranking of 31 out of the 50 states.[6]
A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Georgia's law as the 11th best in the country, giving it a letter grade of "C".[7]
[edit] Features of the law
[edit] What records are covered?
Public records are those documents generated by those in public office in the course of public service. Public records are also defined as "items received or maintained by a private person or entity on behalf of a public office or agency". [8]
[edit] Exemptions
[edit] What agencies are covered?
Government agencies that are covered by the law are "public office[s] or agenc[ies]", which are defined as "All offices, agencies or other entities that serve a "public function", according to Hackworth v. Board of Education, a 1994 court case.
Agencies that are included under the act are:
- Every state department, agency, board, bureau, commission and authority.
- Every county, municipal corporation, school district, or other political subdivision of the state.
- Every department, agency, board, bureau, commission, authority, or similar body of each such county, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the state.
- Every city, county, regional or other authority established pursuant to law.
- With some exceptions, "any nonprofit organization that receives more than one third of its funds in the form of a direct allocation of tax funds from the governing authority of an agency."[9]
[edit] What agencies are not covered?
Records that are explicitly exempt under the law are:
- Records related to the provision of staff services to individual members of the General Assembly by the Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office, the Senate Research Office, or the House Research Office, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(a)(8).
- In a 1992 case, Fathers Are Parents Too v. Hunstein, the Supreme Court said that the law does not apply to the Judicial branch of the government, citing separation of powers exemptions and the long running practice of the judicial branch establishing its own rules and policing itself.
- In a 1975 case, Coggin v. Davey, the Supreme Court exempted the legislature, under a similar separation of powers argument.
[edit] Court records
- In Green v. Drinnon, a 1992 case, the court ruled that tapes of court proceedings are public records.
- In Fathers Are Parents Too v. Hunstein in 1992, a court said that the law doesn't apply to the judicial branch of government.
- Atlanta Journal and Constitution v. Long in 1988, a judge wrote that there is a "presumption that the public will have access to all court records".
- In City of Helen v. White County News in 1996, a court ruled that records of settlement agreements involving government entities are subject to the law. If the settlement agreement has a confidentiality provision, that provision "is invalid and void as against the public policy of this State."[10]
[edit] Who may request records?
Public records are open to "any citizen of this state", according to O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70(b).[11] People who are employees of nonresident corporations (corporations that are incorporated in a state other than Georgia) can exercise their rights under GORA even if he or she is doing so to share the information with his employer.
In 1993, the state's attorney general wrote an opinion saying that records should be open to non-residents of the state as well as residents. Recent federal court rulings have supported this opinion and overturned these laws and opened records to citizens of every state. For more information please see Lee v. Minner.
[edit] Impact of Lee v. Minner
In 2006, a federal appeals court (the Third Circuit) in the case Lee v. Minner rejected the constitutionality of Delaware's law that disallowed non-residents from making public record requests.
The Third Circuit's rulings apply to Delaware, New Jersey, Virginia, Arkansas, Pennsylvania and any other state who permits access to only state citizens. As a result, the provision in the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law that prohibits non-residents from access to records is likely to be considered invalid.
[edit] Must a requestor state a purpose?
Requestors generally don't have to state a purpose. However, in 1999, the state legislature said that access to Uniform Motor Vehicle Accident reports should be confined to people named in the reports or for those who, as defined by statute, needed the reports.
- In Northside Realty Association v. Community Relations Commission in 1978, a court ruled that a "...citizen of Georgia seeking an opportunity to copy and inspect a public record need not show any special or personal interest therein."
- In Parker v. Lee in 1989, a court said, there is "...no reason to distinguish [a death row inmate's] (or any other individual citizen's) right of access from news organizations' right of access."
In 1993, the state legislature repealed a provision in the law that restricted access to records based on whether they were sought for commercial purposes.
[edit] How can records be used?
There is no restriction on how records obtained under the law can be used, once they have been obtained.
[edit] Time allowed for response
- See also Request response times by state
Government agencies must either comply with or deny a written request for public records within three working days after receiving it.
Specifically, the law says that the custodian of the requested records "shall have a reasonable amount of time to determine whether or not the record or records requested are subject to access under this article and to permit inspection and copying. In no event shall this time exceed three business days."
If the custodian denies the request, the custodian must issue the denial within three days.
[edit] Fees for records
Fees are permitted under Georgia law and can include the cost of publication and duplication as well as administrative costs involved in the search.
[edit] Georgia State Records Committee
- To read more, please see Georgia State Records Committee
The Georgia State Records Committee was established by the Georgia Open Records Act in order to review and decide on what records are retained and what records are destroyed. While they do not hold hearings or decided cases about open records violations, they do possess a considerable amount of historical power, shaping what records are preserved by the state and permitting the destruction of current records.
[edit] Open meetings
- To read more about open meetings laws in Georgia, please see Georgia Open Meetings Act
All meetings shall be open to the public. A meeting is defined as "the gathering of a quorum of the members of the governing body of an agency". [12]
[edit] Notable requests
[edit] 2009
- Main article: Notable state FOIA requests, 2009
- The Savannah Morning News has asked the Georgia attorney general's office to intervene in a dispute with Chatham County police over public access to crime reports. The newspaper said the police department is violating the Georgia Open Records Act because it stopped providing the newspaper with copies of daily, accumulated incident reports for the public and reporters to inspect.[13]
- Through an open records request, the Atlanta Journal Constitution learned that it will cost Georgia taxpayers $1,483,641.08 to pay Dennis Felton to not coach the Bulldogs’ basketball team.[14]
[edit] See also
- Georgia State Records Committee
- Georgia FOIA procedures
- Georgia transparency headlines
- Georgia transparency advocates
- Georgia transparency legislation
- Private agency, public dollars-Georgia
- Georgia Open Meetings Act
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ↑ Text and Status of HB171
- ↑ The City Core, February 8, 2009
- ↑ Bill to keep police-citizen e-mail lists private, Marietta Daily Journal, April 7, 2009
- ↑ Text of SB124
- ↑ Integrity Index available for download here
- ↑ Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, 2007
- ↑ Freedom of Information in the USA, 2002
- ↑ Georgia Code search for Title 50, Chapter 18, Article 4
- ↑ Open Government Guide to Georgia Open Records Act
- ↑ Open Government Guide, Courts
- ↑ Georgia Code, search for 50-18-70 (b).
- ↑ Georgia Code search for Title 50, Chapter 14, Section 1
- ↑ Chatham Daily Report, "Ga. newspaper asks AG to mediate records dispute", January 7, 2009
- ↑ Atlanta Journal Constitution, "Dogs owe Felton $1,483,641", February 6, 2009
| |||||||||||
.svg.png){kind=small} |
State of Georgia Atlanta (capital) |
|---|---|
| Transparency |
Open Records Act | Transparency Checklist | Government corruption reports | Transparency Legislation | Open Records procedures | Transparency Advocates | State budget | Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations | |
| Divisions |
State |
List of Counties |
List of Cities |
List of School Districts | |
| Government |
Georgia State Constitution | Executive | House of Representatives | Senate | |
| Judiciary |
Georgia Supreme Court | Judicial Activist Organizations | Judges in the news | |
| Ballot Measures |
2008 ballot measures | List of ballot measures | local ballot measures | Recall campaigns | School bond issues | Laws governing ballot measures | |
