VALDOSTA — Georgia’s open government legislation begins with these words: “The strong public policy of this state is in favor of open government; that open government is essential to a free, open and democratic society.”

The law also states any exceptions to the Open Records Act “shall be interpreted narrowly.”

The law applies to all commissions, councils, boards, authorities, school districts, subdivisions created by a branch of government, non-profits receiving a third of funds from government sources and even private entities that carry out government functions.

Public records are defined as documents, letters, maps, books, tapes, photos, emails, data and electronic files.

There are exceptions to the Open Records Act.

The exceptions include things such as investigative files of an open police investigation that are exempt. However, closed investigative files are open and initial incident reports are always open.

Personal information on publicly held documents such as birthdate, Social Security, phone numbers are subject to redaction.

Economic development records while negotiations are pending are exempt from disclosure.

Sports recruiting records by colleges and universities are exempt for 90 days from the time of the initial request.

University System of Georgia job applications are exempt.

Grand jury records are exempt.

Real estate appraisals of public property prior to purchase are exempt.

State law does not require the creation of new reports, meaning the agency cannot be required to generate documents that do not exist simply because someone requests the information.

Government agencies can charge up to 10 cents per page for copies of documents and can charge retrieval, redaction fees but the hourly charge may not exceed the salary of the lowest paid employee with the necessary training to satisfy the request. If records are supplied electronically, the agency can only charge the actual cost of the media.

If the estimated fees exceed $500, the agency may require prepayment.

State law gives local government agencies three business days to respond to open records requests, and if the requested documents are not readily available within the three business days, the agency must give a timeframe and a description of the records that will be produced, then produce them as soon as “practicable.”

The list of exceptions to the Georgia Open Records Act are contained in O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 and can be found in the Red Book, “A Citizen’s Guide to Open Government,” available through the Georgia First Amendment Foundation and online at gfaf.org. 

When a local government agency denies an open records request, saying the record is exempt, the agency is obligated to provide the specific statutory exemption, citing the code and section in state law.