Georgia Open Records Act
From Sunshine Review
Contents |
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.
[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%. [1]
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.[2]
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".[3]
[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". [4]
[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."[5]
[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, a court said that the law does not apply to the state legislature because "the Legislature...historically exercised the authority to adopt its own internal operating procedures, and [has] subsequently adopted [procedures] inconsistent with the Act."[6]
[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."[7]
[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).[8] 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.
[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] Open Meetings
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". [9]
[edit] Proposed changes
House Bill 171 [10] 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." [11]
Senate Bill 26 would exempt e-mail distribution lists kept by police and fire departments from Open Records requests. [12]
Senate Bill 124 [13] would require that social security numbers be redacted from public documents.
[edit] Relevant legal cases
- Davis v. City of Macon, 1992
[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.[14]
- 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.[15]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ↑ 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 Ohio Open Records Act
- ↑ Open Government Guide: State legislature
- ↑ Open Government Guide, Courts
- ↑ Georgia Code, search for 50-18-70 (b).
- ↑ Georgia Code search for Title 50, Chapter 14, Section 1
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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
| ||||||||||
